


Memoirs

by JLATS



Series: JLATS' post-Frozen 2 [2]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen 2 - Fandom, post-Frozen 2 - Fandom
Genre: Complete, Elsa being a nerd and thus knowing the do and don'ts about time travel, Gen, aka the perfect balance of fluff and angst, being adorkable cuties as always, especially when the tables then turn, having fun with a Time Travel AU (like you do), makes a hilarious balance to write, my girls are CLEVER and STEALTHY, snow sisters, this fic also is a revenge for clichées time travel stories, this is branded with Flangst(TM), where the characters are idiots, while Anna being her excited self and putting their adventure in peril
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLATS/pseuds/JLATS
Summary: Anna and Elsa accidentally time travel to the day the Spirits cut off the Enchanted Forest. They sight their parents as young selves, but do their best to not alter the events in time. Then why does the future seem to change already? And more importantly, how will they get home, to their time, in 30 years from then? A Snow Sisters adventure, with fluff and drama.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Snow Sisters - Relationship
Series: JLATS' post-Frozen 2 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821658
Kudos: 6





	1. Beginning where it all ended

Elsa blinked, looking around. That flash had blinded her a bit, and when she looked around for her sister to make sure she was still near and safe, she saw by her flickering eyes that she was as startled as her.

"Uhm… What the heck just happened?" Asked Anna.

Before the blonde made any speculations, she frowned and scolded her sister.

"I told you to not touch that rock."

"But it was shiny!" Complained Anna, and she had a sorry pout. Her curiosity had led them in a weird situation… And it wasn't the first time it did.

Elsa sighed, then looked around as she thought. "I know those woods by heart now. I've never seen this rock before. And it was emanating a big amount of magic."

"It was glowing a _lot_. I can easily imagine it was." Nodded Anna.

The Snow Queen tried to understand what happened. Her younger had bent to pick up the rock, and then suddenly a flash covered them, but… Nothing seemed to have changed. The woods around them looked the same, and they were still standing at the same place.

Elsa's eyes narrowed when she then noticed something.

"Wasn't that tree… Way bigger when we passed by it?"

Anna turned at her gesture, and nodded. "Yep."

The redhead then pointed at the sky. "The clouds also completely changed, for some reason."

Elsa lifted her head and didn't notice much difference, yet trusted her. She hadn't paid attention to the sky, and on that, she congratulated her sister for her sense of observation. Anna also knew the name of the different types of clouds. Even if that knowledge came from years of boredom due to the isolation, it still was impressive. She nodded.

"Yeah. The clouds are different. It's weird. Did… Time pass? Did we faint?"

Anna held her chin as she thought. "I don't remember falling down. I was getting up when the flash happened, so it's not that. Also, the sun still has the same position, no?"

"It does. You're right."

The Queen smiled. "Look, I'm sorry for touching that magic rock. But we're both safe, so maybe we should go back to the camp and ask if they saw something different."

Elsa agreed with her decision. They went back to the Sami camp from where they had taken a walk, and the Fifth Spirit heard a tinkling between the trees on their right. She also felt in the air that it was Gale, and she smiled.

"Maybe we could ask Gale if they noticed something."

They walked to the Spirit.

"Oh, they're playing with a kid." Said Anna.

The sisters now were a hundred meters away from them, but they still hadn't noticed their presence. The Wind Spirit and the child, apparently a girl, were too busy having fun to do so.

"Wait… I've seen that face somewhere." Frowned Anna, bending her head in confusion. "Is she one of the Northuldra kids?"

She tried to remember where she saw that child's face before, and as she was playing with Gale and moving around in flips, it was hard to look at her face.

Then it suddenly hit her. And apparently, it hit Elsa at the same time. They instantly stopped walking.

"It's Mother." They both exhaled at the same time, and gasped in disbelief.

There was no doubt. She looked exactly like the ice statues of her they had seen again and again in Ahtohallan on their regular visits.

"Elsa, it's…" Started Anna, a smile stretching her lips.

She was about to say 'miraculous', but her elder ended the sentence in another way.

"…Impossible."

They turned to each other, and exchanged a glance.

"What do you mean?"

"How… How is she here? It can't be." Now whispered Elsa, to make sure that Iduna wasn't hearing them. She also made sure that her magic was low, keeping a full control on it, to not warn Gale of her presence.

"It can't be? Come on, you were _born_ with magic. Anything is possible. Look! It's amazing!"

She pointed at their mother, for now only a teen, and she was giggling in the distance with a melodious Wind Spirit who also shared her joy.

"How are _we_ here then?"

"Well, we probably time traveled."

"Time travel doesn't exist, Anna! We're not in one of your fantasy novels!" Blinked Elsa with a frown, trying to keep things logical and facts-based.

Anna shook her head with an eye-roll. "You're able to see memories of the past, but this surprises you?"

She walked forward. "Come on, I'm done whispering. It's Mama right there, I've always dreamed of this moment! We can talk to her!"

"No, no no no." Forbid Elsa, placing her arm in front of her younger sister.

"What? Why?"

The Snow Queen couldn't believe she was asking that question.

"Have you _never_ read time traveling novels?" Grumbled Elsa.

"You just said earlier that I did. Of course I did. You're contradicting yourself now." Mocked Anna, even if she knew that it was rhetorical.

"Then you must remember that in every story, when the hero interacts with past events, it alters the future."

"Yeah, in _stories._ " Underlined the Queen.

"No, you don't get it! In life too! - I can't believe I'm stating this, but…" Interrupted herself Elsa. "…Anna, we can't talk to our mother right now. We just can't. We shouldn't. Otherwise, everything will change in the future. In our future. Maybe… Maybe even none of us will be born."

Anna considered each of her words, taking the news in. She was right… But not completely.

"…Then why are we here?"

"Because you touched a magic rock!" Reminded Elsa.

"No, I mean… Why are we here, _alive?_ If changing the past changes the future, our present time, then we can't exist in our version, right?"

The blonde opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. Then opened it again, then closed it again. "Oh."

"Is it a time paradox?" Understood Anna.

"It totally is a time paradox." Sighed Elsa, closing her eyes.

"Don't go dramatic. It's good news. It means that we can intervene!"

"No, it doesn't really work that way…" Started Elsa.

Suddenly, it was like the air snapped. Something completely changed. In one second, the whole situation flipped.

Elsa's head quickly turned when she heard the familiar - too familiar - sound of steel from swords getting drawn.

"Oh no."

"What?!" Worried Anna, who also felt that something was happening, but couldn't tell what yet.

Gale had stopped playing with Iduna, who got dropped on her feet to the ground, and left behind by the Wind Spirit who hurried away. Some yells and grunts were heard in the distance, but it was too far to see what it was.

"It's today." Muttered Elsa, her eyes filling with tears. Sad, panicked and powerless tears.

The Queen frowned, then gasped when she understood. Iduna frowned in confusion at why the Spirit had left her, and heard the noises from afar, so she followed them.

"No, she shouldn't go where the fight is!" Exclaimed Anna, way too loud.

Iduna jolted at her voice, closer than the noises she heard before, and quickly turned to where the sisters where standing. Elsa gasped and strongly grabbed Anna to drag her behind a thick tree. Thankfully, they were far enough for their young mother to not spot them.

"Elsa! What are you– hm-hmmm!" Got muffled Anna, Elsa slamming a hand on her mouth.

"Shhh!" Warned the blonde, her eyes wide.

She peeked behind the tree to see if Iduna had walked closer, and the girl still was searching where the voice had come from.

"E-hah!" Tried to say Anna, her mouth still under Elsa's hand.

Her elder gestured her to stay silent with a finger on her own lips.

"E-HAH!" Insisted Anna, gesturing at the hand Elsa had on her face, and trying to get free of her hold.

"SHHHH! Will you shush up? You're going to get us caught!" Whispered Elsa on the lowest tone possible despite her panic and anger.

She looked at Iduna, but thankfully, though for the worst, she got distracted by the growing sounds of battle and ran to go help.

After making sure that their mother had ran away and they were alone in that corner of the woods again, she let go of Anna's mouth. The later gasped of relief as she did so, panting.

"What is wrong with you?" Frowned Elsa. "She almost saw us! Why were you wriggling like that?!"

The redhead intensely rubbed her cheeks and mouth with her hands, trying to heat them.

"Your hand was SUPER COLD!"

Elsa's eyes widened at the sudden realization.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't notice, I… I was so stressed that I made magic in my palms, and… Oh Anna, I'm so sorry!"

She hurried to check her state.

"I'm alright." Assured Anna, still rubbing her face however. "This just feels like I plunged my head into the fjord in winter. This is fine."

Elsa had a mix of a worried face and sorry eyebrows, and clenched her fists to take all magic off her hands. She then rubbed them along her younger sister's arms, apologizing in loops.

This made Anna laugh, but her laughter stopped when they heard the fight between the Northuldra and the Arendelle soldiers getting closer.

They looked at the fight that was playing a crucial part in their common past.

"Come on, we have to hide." Advised Elsa, showing bushes a bit further. "We'll wait here for now, and then cross the mist on the other way once it's formed. We'll just have to hold hands and it will part."

"Wait, you want us to leave?!" Blurted Anna, eyes growing wide.

"We should. The forest stayed this way for more than 30 years, and we can't change the course of events by hiding inside… What do you think?" Elsa inquired, trying to build a plan.

The redhead wasn't responding, her eyes still wide and staring at the fight. She had just spotted their parents in the battle now arriving close. She also recognized the Arendelle soldiers in younger versions of themselves, and some Northuldra people as well.

But she gulped when she saw how events turned.

Mattias was struggling to protect Agnarr. Even if she knew that he would make it, according to the future, she couldn't help but worry. And Iduna looked panicked, frantically looking around and confused at why the Arendelle soldiers suddenly attacked.

That was too much for Anna. Her natural and legendary impatience forced her body to move. She turned and already launched herself for a sprint.

"NO, ANNA!" Muttered Elsa, her voice strong but wheezing to keep it as low as a whisper.

Anna got restrained by a hand holding hers firmly, and her whole body stopped in one jerk at Elsa's force. She almost lost her balance, surprised by her sister's strength.

"What are you DOING?" The Queen said through gritted teeth as she twirled around.

"Preventing you from doing a big mistake."

"But we can HELP! We can save them!"

"NO, we _CAN'T!_ " Insisted Elsa. "Imagine what would happen if–"

"If we change the future? Yes, I got it. But if we're alive, it means that we made it. Nothing changed."

Elsa shook her head. "No. Nothing changed because we stayed here and did nothing. Nothing changed because we will do nothing." She clarified.

Anna looked at her, and there was a long silence between them as they stared at each other. Only the distant sound of battle punctuated it. Elsa sighed with a shaking breath.

"Anna, you have no idea how much I want to change the past too. When I saw Mama, I just wanted to run to her and take care of her. But…"

The redhead had thought that Elsa was getting bossy and a killjoy, but her eyes now were filling with genuine tears.

"…We can't. I'm sorry."

Another silence filled the space between them.

"Don't. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I'm actually sorry myself for pushing you." Murmured the Queen.

She turned to the battle, a sad yet decisive expression on her face.

"Okay, where's your hiding spot?"

Elsa smiled at Anna's choice of vocabulary to light up their mood.

"Over there. Nobody will see us."

They crouched on the grass, Elsa in lotus position and Anna sitting with her legs bent and her chin on her knees.

"And now we wait?"

"And now we wait." Nodded Elsa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes that last thing was a HP ref. Oh boy, my works are interspersed with references, and Memoirs obviously doesn't escape it.
> 
> Fun fact: this fanfic initially started as a prompt from @niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian on Tumblr. It inspired me so much that I made a whole multi-chapter about it... Damn. Enjoy!


	2. It feels like the future is calling

Elsa fidgeted with the green grass blades as time passed. It distracted her from the distant sounds of battle, which was difficult to ignore.

"Will making flower crowns alter the future?" Asked Anna softly.

Her voice was shy, masked by the knees she was pressing her face on. Elsa had a touched smile. She knew that Anna asked that question both with humor and with a need. They were craving for a distraction.

"I could make you one."

Elsa shifted from her lotus position to a seated one, her ice sandals sparkling in the move. She stretched her hand out of the bush where they were hiding to pick some flowers, and started to craft a crown.

"You're really great at those." Smiled Anna.

"Honeymaren is a good teacher."

They both smiled. For a moment, they forgot the crazy situation they were in, the time travel, the tragic fate of the forest they were witnessing, the distant grunts of pain as Spirits, soldiers and Sami fought each other. When context was ignored, it actually was a sunny day like any other, with smelly flowers and fresh grass.

Elsa was knotting the flowers in a round under Anna's attentive eyes, when suddenly, she lifted her head in a snap.

Her eyes had gone wide, her breathing stopped, and Anna worried. There was nothing in front of them.

"Wh… What is it?"

Elsa didn't respond, and tensed, still looking in the distance as she dropped the flower crown.

Anna tried to understand, hearing nothing, then she got why and her jaw dropped.

"Oh God… It's the Spirits call, isn't it?"

Elsa had to physically shake herself to get out of what looked like a reverie or a transe. She blinked, and nodded. "Yeah, it's…"

She turned to her sister. "It's so weird. I've heard it so many times through memories, but now, I clearly hear it in Mother's voice… And it's really strong."

Anna frowned. "What do you mean?"

She had no idea how the call worked, for she couldn't hear it herself, and it sometimes felt like Elsa was a dog hearing ultrasounds when Ahtohallan called her for a Spirits meeting or something else.

"It's… Really…" Tried to say Elsa through gritted teeth, like it was physically difficult to talk now.

The redhead put a hand on her shoulder. She gasped when she felt how cold her sister was gradually becoming because of panic.

"Elsa? What is going on, are you okay?"

The Snow Queen had clenched her eyes shut as, apparently, Iduna was calling again. Each time the young girl sang to the Spirits for another try, Elsa's hands clenched on the grass, and she grunted.

Snow started to appear under her palms and between her fingers, like Winter morning dew. Elsa's breathing was long and pained.

"She's so sad… And confused… I just…"

Anna gasped at her state and looked around, checking that they were alone, then bent to her elder, now placing both her hands on her arms.

"Can you resist it?"

"M'trying!" Muttered Elsa with a clenched jaw.

She strongly shut her eyes, and now her shoulders were trembling. Anna's heart split in half when she saw that tears were falling down on her cheeks.

"Elsa…"

"She's desperate. I can hear it. She needs help! She's calling for our help,  _ my _ help!"

The blonde had opened her eyes, and her deep blue irises were covered with tears. Anna stared at them firmly.

"Elsa. You can do it. Stay with me. I know well that it's nearly impossible for a Spirit to resist that call, and that you can't un-hear it. But you have to stay here. You must. In your own words: we must not intervene. Stay with me."

Anna's motivational speech helped her elder, and she nodded despite shaking and crying.

"She… She…" Blabbered the Snow Queen, feeling powerless and yet sensing all her magic twirl inside of her.

"I know. Mama's panicked and asking for the Spirits' help. But remember what happened afterwards? Gale was the closest Spirit, and they were able to get her and Papa out of here. They'll make it."

Elsa nodded, and rubbed her tears with a sniff. "We just have to wait."

"Exactly." Smiled Anna.

The next minutes were tough for both of them. Elsa was struggling with every inch of her body to not run to the call and assist the human calling for the Spirits' help, and Anna was biting her lip at her sister's state. Then, suddenly, the call ended - it was easy to tell for Anna, because Elsa suddenly gasped of relief and let her head fall. She melted the snow on the grass with a simple wave of the wrist, and calmed her breathing.

A silence passed, as the two sisters guessed that Gale was now picking up the two teenagers and putting them in the merchant cart heading to Arendelle and to safety, as happening in the memory of their parents that they now knew by heart.

"Sorry for that", exhaled Elsa, now retrieving her normal state. She sat normally with a sigh, and turned to her younger.

"It's okay." Chuckled Anna. "You just were… Very obsessed about it. But it's natural. It's like when I know that we received the new chocolate supplies on Tuesdays at 4 in the afternoon and I have to put all my commitment to not rush out of the study and burst into the kitchens to devour it all."

Elsa laughed loudly at the comparison, then slammed her hand on her mouth for how noisy she was. Both sisters then wheezed in a giggle, and fell on each other as they laughed behind their hands.

After a while, the Snow Queen looked up at the sky. "The five elements symbol - well, four elements symbol, at this time - will appear any time now. That's how the mist got created."

Anna nodded as they stood up. She knew the story too. It wasn't just story now, it was History, and they were living it.

As they stared at the sky, waiting for what would be their signal, she put her hands on her hips. "Once we'll be safe, we'll have to investigate on why and how we got transported to the past. I mean… We know how. Hum. But why? Was today, I mean, the day we're from, kind of like, the anniversary of the day the mist appeared?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know. I often lose track of time. We don't have much use of a precise calendar here."

The Queen smiled. "Yeah. Okay, then maybe–"

The end of her sentence vanished in a gasp, for the sky had suddenly lit up with a giant, and undeniably beautiful, Spirits unity symbol.

The four diamond shapes, representing Air, Fire, Water and Earth, shone in the blue sky, announcing that Nature had taken its decision. The Forest would be closed. No one getting in, no one getting out. Secrets would be sealed, for good and for bad.

But something was different than the memory Anna and Elsa had seen of it. And a shiver went down Elsa's spine as she very easily spotted the change.

"Wait. No."

Anna saw it too now.

In the middle of the four branches symbol, where there initially was a hollow, where there  _ should _ be a hollow, was drawn a bright Fifth Spirit symbol.

"Oh no."

Elsa stepped back, feeling weak in shock, her knees buckling a bit. "It's because I'm here."

Her hands reached to her head, and she nervously ran them along her scalp. "Nooo, no no no… No, I ruined everything."

Anna expertly calmed her down right away. Elsa's mannerism announced an obvious upcoming anxiety attack. "It's not your fault. We didn't plan to time travel, okay? You just happen to be there. I'm sure this doesn't change anything."

They turned to the symbol again, and it disappeared as quick as it appeared, like a flash in the air. The flash turned to smoke, and the mist formed in the shape of a dome all above the Forest, taking it all, and surrounding the place with a magical barrier. It was done.

"See?" Smiled Anna. "Everything's fine."

She turned around. The mist wasn't the only thing that had fell.

"Elsa?"

The blonde was down on the grass, her body still, her hair surrounding her face which had eyes closed.

"ELSA!" Shrieked Anna, quickly kneeling down to hold her.

She lifted her shoulders, and Elsa's head tilted back. She had completely fainted, and looked like she was deep in a coma. Anna maintained her head with her hand behind her hair, and her eyes searched for any sign of injury. There was none.

"ELSA! Elsa, can you hear me?"

She put her back down and the blonde didn't answer.

"What happened?" Muttered Anna, and her eyes started to sting, but she chased her tears with force.

Elsa had collapsed the second the Spirits symbol had disappeared and the mist had formed, that was for sure. The redhead's breathing was shaking.

She inspected Elsa's state. Mattias had taught her how to check on an unconscious body, and she promised herself to thank him deeply once they come back. If they ever come back. Anna hastily checked Elsa's pulse, the way she breathed, and sighed of relief when she saw that the Snow Queen was safe, and simply passed out. She also wasn't naked, the ultimate proof that she still had her powers, for she was wearing an outfit entirely made of ice and snow, and Anna was glad that she didn't have to also deal with an awkward situation.

"What now? What now?" Muttered the Queen, thinking fast.

Anna looked around, her gaze alternating between her sister, South, and North. What should she do? Bring Elsa to Ahtohallan, who more than anyone or anything could tell what was going on with Elsa's magic? Or head to Arendelle? Anna bit her lip as she took the drastic decision.

Elsa's last wish was to take her and her sister safe by passing the mist together. That way, they were sure not to intervene in the past events. They still were in the Forest, after all, and even if the battle was over, soon people from both sides would go through the woods looking for survivors or answers on what just happened. They had to move.

"Okay. Come on, Sleeping Beauty, we have to go."

Anna tried to pick Elsa up, but it was harder than she thought. Elsa may not be very tall, and notably thin, she still was an adult and weighed like one.

"Oh damn." Whispered Anna.

She hesitated between laughing or whining. However, nothing would ever stop Queen Anna of Arendelle. She put her hands under Elsa's back and legs, and lifted her up. That way, it was easier, and after a few steps, Anna got used to her elder's weight.

Elsa's head tilted on Anna's arm, resting there.

"I swear that if you're pretending to be asleep just so I carry you…" Huffed Anna, "I'll ask Bruni to burn your butt."

She lighted her own mood with her joke, and her steps went faster as she headed South. After a while, and several breaks on her way, she faced the mist, and stopped.

Elsa was still unconscious, even if she was curled against her. Would they be able to go through even if the Fifth Spirit had passed out?

"Dear Gods, I hope holding your hand will work."

Anna shifted a bit to make her hand free and bent her arm to intertwine her fingers with Elsa's.

She carefully stepped forward. It was a long time ago, but she clearly remembered what happened with the fog the first time they passed it. It could get very powerful, and very repulsive. With tiny baby steps, she went on, clenching an eye shut and wincing as she walked to the sparkling smoke.

In a gust, the mist parted, and Anna gasped with a smile. It was spectacular how the magic obeyed to the passage of the pair of girls who formed the Bridge.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, and walked forward.

She admired the mist from the inside as she went through with Elsa in her arms, and prayed that it wouldn't suddenly close and push her on her way out. The Queen went on the theory that the reason why it did so on her last passage was because Elsa and her had stopped holding each other's hands.

And she was right, for she finally arrived to the plains, and smiled. The mist reformed behind her, and they were alone in the vast open wild.

She carefully put Elsa on the ground, checking for possible dangers around before exhaling and sitting heavily next to her. She looked at the blonde's unconscious face. She looked peaceful, but her coma was worrying.

"We'll find help in Arendelle, I promise."

The younger stroke Elsa's fingers with her thumb as she held her hand, a sad smile on her lips.

Ironically, in that moment, she was just like Iduna hiding next to Agnarr on the cart several kilometers further: hoping to find help as she fled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUNNNN! Why did Elsa faint? Ooooh, I really wonder why. Uh? I'm the author and should tell you right away? Tsk, you shall see. And have your answers soon, I promise.


	3. Joan & Adele

Elsa's eyes weakly blinked as she woke up. She immediately shut them back with a grunt, because of how blinding the sun was.

At her grunt, Anna gasped of surprise, looked down at her, and almost dropped her on the ground. Both lost their balance, and Elsa yelped as the was about to fall, but had good reflexes and landed on her feet. With a bounce, she looked around, trying to understand why they were here, and why she had been in Anna's arms.

And then she found herself right in Anna's arms again, but for a tight hug.

"ELSA!" Gasped the younger sister. "I was so scared! You fainted and didn't say anything and I couldn't wake you up!"

The Queen's voice was shaking with emotion, and Elsa caught up with what happened as she held her close. Once confusion passed, she raised her arms and hugged her sister back.

"It's okay. I'm here now. I'm fine." She assured with a soft voice.

The hug lasted, and when they parted, she smiled at Anna's face. Tears of joy had fell on her cheeks, and she rubbed them off gently with her thumbs. She held her face in her hands.

"Are _you_ okay?"

Anna sniffed with a smile. "Yeah… I am now."

"Thank you for taking care of me. As always. What happened?" Asked Elsa.

"You're the one who's supposed to tell me!"

"No, not that, I mean… Why are we here?"

They parted, and Anna pointed at the valley.

"We passed the mist. We're heading South now. I managed to lift you all the way here." She added, flexing her biceps.

Elsa smiled, but then gasped slightly.

"You followed my advice."

"Of course. You know, you were right. We better go hide in Arendelle, and maybe find some answers there."

Elsa nodded, looking were in the middle of nowhere, in the vast plains. She slowly looked down at her hands, and the gesture surprised Anna.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" She frowned. "And what did you mean, 'not that'? You remember that you fainted? You know why? Did something happen?"

"I…"

She stared at her younger sister, unsure if she could tell her. "…Yes."

Anna gave her a look that meant 'Go on then', but Elsa bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, Anna, but I can't tell you yet."

" _Yet?_ Wait… What?"

"I really can't. But I promise that I will tell you. At some point."

"What?! And don't "I promise" me. You know damn well that I hate it when you say that now."

Elsa quickly held Anna's hands in hers, and the latter startled at the move. She stared right into her eyes. "You have to trust me."

Anna frowned. "I do trust you! You know I do. It's not the problem. We have to share everything. Please tell me what's going on."

The Snow Queen hesitated, looking away.

"Elsa, come on."

The blonde's eyes dove into her younger's again. "I'm not hiding something from you. It's just… Something that I can't reveal yet. Sorry, Anna."

Anna insisted anyway. "Then tell me what it roughly was, without getting into details. You worried me so much… I saw you faint, and you passed out for more than an hour. You have to tell me what happened."

That was the argument that made Elsa's decision change. Anna looked deeply touched, and she still had marks on her face that showed her sadness then relief. The blonde inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

"Ahtohallanshowedmesomething."

Anna bent her head. "Okay, less mumbling please."

Elsa pouted. "Ahtohallan showed me something."

The Queen blinked as there was a silence. "That's… Rather usual, no? You often get convened into the glacier so they can show you specific memories of the past. Why do you look like it's a bad thing?"

"Because it wasn't a past memory. It was… A future one." Said Elsa.

Anna's big teal blue eyes became even bigger. "Ex…cuse me?"

"When the Spirits decided to close the Forest with the mist, they detected my presence. But I wasn't supposed to be there. And Ahtohallan knew. They always know, after all. Everything." Explained Elsa. "So they summoned my conscience, and showed me my mistake. What I changed in the future because of my presence there."

"And that's why you fainted. They needed to show you the memory." Muttered Anna. "It was kind of a punishment to make you pass out for so long…"

"They wanted to see me. Talk to me. First try to understand how I got here… Then scold me."

Anna's eyebrows lifted in a sorry expression.

"This is all my fault. Me and my damn curiosity. You have responsibilities as a Spirit, if I hadn't touched that stupid rock…"

Elsa hurried to raise her hands. "Anna. It's neither of us' fault. That magical rock surely was there for a reason. Call it destiny, chance, whatever, but it was there to be _found_."

She then looked down, her hands unconsciously holding her arms in a self-hug.

"I changed the whole timeline. We failed, Anna. I ruin–"

"I'm sure you didn't." Reassured Anna. "I know you don't want to tell me what the future memory is - now I get what the 'yet' was about - but it can't be _that_ bad, right?"

The look that the Snow Queen gave her contradicted it.

"Oh my goodness. It is? It changed something big in the future?"

The elder nodded with bitten lips, her arms still crossed.

"Seriously?! Just by being there?! We didn't even touch anything! We talked to no one!"

"Yes, but back then, the Fifth Spirit wasn't supposed to be there."

Anna sighed, passing a hand in her hair and tucking it behind her ear. "You'll have to tell me what that memory is in due time. This is just a mess. Why is time travel always such a mess? And how did Ahtohallan even show you a memory of the _future_? Magic would drive me crazy if I didn't find it wonderful, I swear. Gosh, I need some booze."

The elder snorted at her sentence. Anna smiled after a while. Somehow, the way Elsa's mood lifted also lifted hers.

"Come on, we should head to Arendelle. The road will be long. Unless of a miracle, like, if we cross roads with a merchant cart."

The Snow Queen nodded with a smile, and walked at her sister's side to the South.

* * *

"Is that a merchant cart?" Squinted Elsa.

Anna looked to the horizon.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Ten minutes had barely passed. This was a world record of chance, thought the Queen.

They hurried to catch up with the hooded cart, drove by a simple merchant with a horse. With calls and hand shakes, they managed to stop him.

Anna suddenly put her arm in front of Elsa, and the blonde almost fell back at the move.

"Wait!"

She took her jacket off. "Here. You're wearing your super sparkly outfit, it will look very suspicious. Take this."

"What?" Blinked the elder.

"You're literally wearing _snow_ , Elsa. Do as I ask, quick!"

She obeyed, vanishing her double train with a flick of the wrist and quickly putting the jacket on before buttoning it. It was a good idea, for it covered most of Elsa's magical outfit. The jacket was comfortable, but Anna's arms were smaller than hers and her shoulders broader, so it felt weird. If they weren't in an urgent situation, she would have complained.

"Hello", smiled Anna to the man.

They saluted the merchant, who bowed his head, tilting his hat as a polite gesture. His eyes widened in surprise.

"You look exhausted. What are two young ladies doing on such a warm day in the middle of the plains?"

Elsa lifted her eyebrows. Was it that warm? She couldn't tell, for she was wearing an ice outfit. She then realized that her younger hadn't told her about how warm she felt, and only then noticed how red Anna's cheeks were.

"Thank you so much for stopping. We're in great need of a ride." The redhead smiled.

Anna wanted to introduce herself, but then realized they had to come up with fake names to hide their identities. Stating that they were the royals coming from the future definitely would be a bad idea.

The Queen cleared her throat as she thought.

"My name is Joan, and this is uh…"

"Adele."

The redhead lifted an eyebrow at the surprising speed of improvisation from Elsa, but also the choice of the name. She side-looked her sister, and the elder gave a slight shrug.

"Nice to meet you, Joan and Adele. I'm Reed. Well, lucky you, I was heading to Arendelle too. You can jump on the back."

"Oh, nice!" Beamed Anna. "Thank you so much, sir!"

Elsa frowned, not moving. "How do you know we're heading to Arendelle?"

The merchant looked at them like they were idiots. "Why, this is the road to the South. And you're wearing the crocus crest."

He pointed at the motive on the arm of Anna's jacket, on Elsa. Both sisters suddenly widened her eyes. They were so used to see Arendelle's crocus everywhere that they forgot it was sewn on the shoulder, and betraying them.

"That's rather odd to have it displayed like that, however." Chuckled the man. "Are you two scholars or something?"

"Yes, exactly." Said Anna, jumping on the opportunity. "It's a school uniform."

"I see. Now come on, we don't have all day." He said, smiling behind his mustache.

Elsa hurried to go on the cart, going in the back under the hood.

They sat among the supplies the man was selling, and the cart went along on the road. The two sisters looked at each other with awkward looks. After a while, the merchant whistled a melody, indicating he was too distracted to pay attention to what they could say.

"Do you think I should tell him that this jacket actually is a tailor-made one I drew, that is inspired by the new royal guards' uniform 30 years from now?" Chuckled Anna.

"Shhhh!" Scolded Elsa, waving her hand to advise her to not talk that loudly.

Anna bent to her elder and talked in whispers.

"Sorry. Also… _Adele?_ Seriously?"

"It's the first name that came to my mind. We totally forgot to come up with fake ones."

"Now I'll have to call you that in public until we find a way to get back to present time…" Sighed Anna. "It's so bad."

"Hey!" Nudged Elsa. "Don't even let me tease you for picking Joan."

Anna smiled, and looked around them. She inspected the supplies. "He's a turnip merchant. Hmm…"

She knew it wasn't the same cart, but made sure by lifting all tarpaulins that a young Agnarr and a young Iduna weren't hiding with them.

"You never know", she explained to the blonde who looked at her with a grin.

They rested against the wood, lulled by the movement of the cart and the whistling of the merchant. It was a good thing that the cart had a hood, because the sun was scorching above them.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were warm?" Frowned Elsa. "I could have refreshed you with my magic."

"I didn't want to bother you."

"Annaaaa…"

"Don't give me that look."

"You know you never bother me. You should have just asked it."

"I'm better now, don't worry. Since I gave you my jacket, I'm feeling lighter."

Elsa stared at her face.

"I'm not lying!" Sweared Anna.

"Okay."

Time passed, and they knew that it would be long before they arrived to the kingdom, so they laid on each other and let sleep find them.

"I miss Nokk." Mumbled Elsa. "It's faster with them."

Anna giggled. "Yeah, no wonder. Well, now you know how much time it takes _me_."

"Hmm-hmm."

"I'll ask for that merchant's full name once we're in the village. When we go back to our time, I'll make his stand the most beautiful of the marketplace. In the least suspicious way possible."

Elsa snorted at her side, but it was a tired snort.

"Hey, don't faint again, please."

"I won't." Smiled Elsa, her eyes closed. She patted her sister's hand.

Anna consented to close her eyes as well with a smile.

* * *

They startled awake when the merchant called them.

"Hey, girls! We've arrived!"

They blinked fast and hurried outside. Before they even hoped down, Elsa knew it was true, for she recognized the typical smell of Arendelle's harbor, and Anna recognized the distant sound of the clock tower's bell. Nothing much would change over the next 30 years…

The redhead turned around the cart to thank the merchant deeply.

"Oh, it's fine." Said the smiling man with modesty. "You know, I almost thought we wouldn't make it. My right back wheel almost broke on the way when we hit a pothole. It didn't wake you two up, though."

Elsa looked down to inspect the wheel, and gave a meaningful hand gesture to her sister to tell her to distract the merchant. Anna understood and nodded, before asking the man where his place on the marketplace would be.

The Snow Queen kneeled in front of the wheel, and refurbished it with a gust of magic, fixing the broken part with ice more solid than steel. Wearing a satisfied smile, she stood up, and gestured at Anna.

They thanked the man once again, and the redhead showed a spot where they could hide, behind a low wall where they pretended to sit against.

"Hey. I've been thinking. I have a plan. What about we go to the post office. We ask them to send a letter to the Queen in the future. Me. And in the letter, we write: 'Don't touch the glowing rock. Signed: Anonymous.'. What do you think?"

Elsa chuckled. "That sounds stupid, but it might work."

"I know, right? I'm a genius." Smiled Anna, beaming.

"But that means that we'll die."

The redhead frowned.

"What are you talking about? No, we will be safe, for…"

She then gasped. "Oh, crap, you're right. We would cease to exist. I mean, current we."

"Exactly." Sighed Elsa. "We're the future of ourselves. This is how you're planning to make us die." She added, laughing. "Anna and Elsa of Arendelle disappear after touching a magic rock, get transported to the past, then die because they create a paradox with a letter. Great."

Anna snorted. "Yep, not very glorious for an end."

"I thought you aimed to be in history books as being the oldest Queen that ever lived", reminded Elsa with a grin, remembering a conversation they once had at the dinner table.

The younger sighed.

"I almost ruined that. Okay, new plan."

A silence passed.

"Do you have a plan?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I totally named the turnips marchant Reed. Yep. Another reference: I picked Adele as a fake name because of Adele Dazeem. Yep yep. I'm a dork, but you already knew that, right?  
> Our girls have arrived in Arendelle!! /glorious trumpet sounds/


	4. Compliments and supplements

"That's the craziest plan." Puffed Anna.

"It can't be worse than sending a letter to yourself." Commented Elsa.

Anna turned to her. "Hey, that actually wasn't that bad of an idea."

The blonde sighed, amused nonetheless. "You really need me to teach you a thing or two about time paradoxes."

"Sorry, I forgot for one moment that I have a nerd as my elder."

Elsa gently nudged her, and Anna giggled.

"I get it, you know." Said the redhead. "No interacting with anyone, ever. We do not go nearby the castle because there's a way we cross ways with our young Father coming home, we do not go to the East part of the village because this is where Mother was found and adopted, annnd we try to avoid talking to pretty much anyone because they could be young versions of Kai, Gerda  _ or  _ the guards  _ or  _ the maids, that we don't recognize."

Elsa grinned. "You're the clever one."

"What? Nah, you're the one with the brain cells. I just repeated what you told me."

"I never explained that to you." Pointed the elder.

"You didn't?"

"No. You grasped it all by yourself."

"Really?"

Elsa sighed, but with some tenderness. "You once told me 'When will you see yourself the way I see you?', but it also applies to you. Do you realize of much better of a Queen you make compared to me?"

"No, that's not true, you–" Anna started to defend, but Elsa wasn't going to let her demean herself.

"You're way more clever than me, Anna. These last years, you solved mysteries and found solutions faster than me. You saved my life twice.  _ Twice _ , Anna. Do you have  _ any  _ idea how much people admire you? How much  _ I  _ admire you?"

Anna stared at her sister, stunned by her words. Her lips trembled as she was about to blabber a response, but she gulped with a slight blush. She actually didn't know what to say. She then analyzed Elsa's facial expression.

"You look like you wanted to say that since a long time."

"I do." Smiled Elsa, taking Anna's hand in hers. "Since we became the Bridge, I wanted to tell you in many occasions. But I never really found the right moment." She paused. "Who would have thought that I'd tell you that more than 30 years before?"

Anna laughed, and her elder joined in. "Thank you. So much."

It was all she could say, her modesty preventing her from saying anything else, especially enhanced since she became Queen. Her emotion still tightened her throat, and she had started to see Elsa blurry, so she coughed lightly and re-focused on what they were doing.

"Alright. Speaking of time travel… Where were we?"

Elsa smiled as they stopped looking at each other to stare at the same direction. "The rule is to not interact with anyone. But with harmless things…"

She waved her hand, and with a flick of the wrist, a gust of ice escaped her magic palm and sneaked in between the legs of the stable boys from the place they were hidden.

The sparkling and glowing blue thread discreetly made its way to a cart, like an eel having fun and crackling. Anna raised an impressed eyebrow at how fast Elsa was in her magic now. She could control her ice mentally with incredible speed and mastering, no matter what the distance was. She just had to look at it from where she was if she wanted to be precise, which was the current case, and Anna's eyes alternated between looking at the trajectory of the magic and Elsa's focused face.

She had what the younger now called 'The Scrunch' in between her eyebrows, which often appeared when she was concentrating as she carved wood in the Forest or tried to understand Olaf's handwriting on charades' papers.

She let out a small giggle at the Scrunch, but tried not to distract the Snow Queen. They were trying their best to not be spotted, hiding behind barrels, and it would ruin everything.

Finally, the controlled gust of magic arrived to its destination, and Elsa made sure that neither of the blacksmith and the wheelwright were looking at the cart before she snapped the bars of one of the wheels. With a satisfyingly quiet snap, it broke, and none of the people around noticed that the cart now had a default.

"Here we go." Smiled Elsa, not hiding her relief sigh that it all went well.

She waved her hand to vanish the ice, and turned to a beaming Anna.

"How did you possibly see from that far?" The latter asked.

"I don't know." Shrugged Elsa. "You couldn't?"

"The shop is a  _ hundred _ meters away, Elsa. Of course I don't. I wonder if your sense of sight got sharpened since you became the Fifth Spirit."

Instead of tossing that commentary away, the Snow Queen hummed and considered it. "That's actually possible. I noticed I could hear the sounds of the Forest better afterwards. Or maybe it was just Gale bringing them to me."

"Well, that was awesome. Breaking a part of a cart so the wheelwright will have to fix it and therefore shift all her production day after day and then year after year until the day I rent one to come see you? And so with the delay difference I won't touch the glowing magical rock because we won't have the same walk in the Forest? Brilliant. It definitely was a crazy plan, and it's brilliant. You're amazing."

Elsa simply shrugged. "You're the one who made me think of it when retelling what happened."

Anna stared at her.

"Can't you just take a compliment?"

"Uh?"

"You just broke a cart on a  _ surgical _ level thanks to a spark of  _ magic _ sent from the  _ other _ end of the street, and you're like 'oh yeah it's thanks to you'?!"

"What?" Frowned Elsa, genuinely confused.

Anna blinked as she realized that Elsa wasn't trying to be modest.

"Wait… You're not really used to receive compliments."

The blonde looked away, and that slight embarrassment confirmed Anna's theory.

"Elsa, you always give compliments! To everyone! You even bathed me in compliments just earlier. You should learn to get some as well!"

"But anyone deserves them more than me." Pouted Elsa.

Anna's mouth opened wide in shock. She couldn't believe her ears.

"ELSA!"

"Shhhh!" Whispered the Snow Queen.

"I don't care if I'm loud about it, damnit, I  _ want _ to be loud about it, I want to  _ loudly _ tell you how many compliments you deserve. Everyone in Arendelle and Northuldra admire you!"

"I know." Mumbled Elsa. "But I've never done any big effort to get that recognition. People mostly admire me for my magic, and I was born with it, so…"

The younger hesitated between slapping her forehead or Elsa's arm.

"Elsa, this couldn't be more far from the truth. And, for God's sake, you stopped a  _ tidal wave _ with your  _ bare hands _ and saved a whole kingdom from being flooded. What can ever top that?"

"Nokk helped." Specified the Fifth Spirit.

Anna grumbled. "Please understand that you have the right to receive compliments, okay?"

Elsa remained quiet, like she always was when Anna raised her voice on her and said the truth. She simply nodded.

"Come here."

The elder lifted her head, and found herself in Anna's arms, hugging her warmly. Elsa gave the hug back, holding her sister tight against her.

With smiles, they parted.

"Your turn now. Do you think you could sneak into that shop there and get us two hoods?" Asked Elsa as she pointed at a window.

"Discretion is my middle name." Grinned Anna, stretching her fingers.

"It really isn't." Smirked Elsa, and memories of their whole life in common could provide counter-examples. "But I trust you on this. Since the Great Thaw, you went more than me into that shop - yes, that's because I didn't need new clothes as much as you do - and you know the lady more than me. You'll know how to borrow two clothes without getting busted."

"Just say 'steal'."

"I thought you wanted to repay everyone once we get back to the future?" Frowned Elsa, surprised by the Queen's precision.

"Yes, of course, but for now, it's still theft. I'm about to steal from my citizens. And we need money too. Goodness, I'm about to steal  _ money _ from them. It's making me sick." Murmured Anna, hands on her cheeks.

"Don't think too much about it. It's gonna be okay eventually." Assured Elsa, but it made her feel bad as well.

Anna nodded and stood up. She went to the shop, wisely inspecting each of the clients' movements and the manageress so no one could see her face, and made her way through the store. Elsa saw her bounce and leap discreetly in the room by the window, and she clenched her hands in stress. She wondered if she was more worried in that moment than Anna.

After long painful minutes, Anna reappeared at the door, being as careful as she was on her way in, and soon swiftly ducked behind the barrels next to her sister. Elsa felt great relief to have her back. She couldn't tell if it was because Anna made it with no problem, or because her sister was at her side again after being alone for those long minutes, trapped 30 years in the past on her own.

"Tadaaaa!" Smiled Anna, beaming like a thousand suns in her pride.

There was a silence, and Elsa gulped and nodded with a smile as a congratulation gesture.

"Why are you crying?" Frowned Anna, and she let down the hands she had lifted with one hood in each.

Elsa urged to sniff and blink to not show anything. "I'm not crying."

The Queen bent her head. "For someone who's been hiding the truth about herself for a tremendous amount of time, you're terrible at lying."

The blonde had a giggling sigh. "I'm just… I'm just glad you're here. Without you, I don't know what I'd have done after time traveling. I'd have panicked and… You know."

Anna smiled warmly. "It's a good thing we got each other, uh? You do the magic stuff, I do the clothing stuff. It's equality!" She exclaimed, raising the hoods in victory.

They laughed together, and their laughter was interrupted by their stomachs rumbling in one voice.

"Okay, let's put them on. Oh, and keep my jacket underneath. We're gonna go get some food."

"But we can't enter into an inn, it's too risky!"

"We're not going to eat in a pub. Some of the merchants on the market square sell grilled meat, and I've never seen their faces before. Which means that they're just passing by Arendelle. With that fact and the hoods, we have no risk to alter the events in the future."

Elsa's jaw dropped, and melted in a smile. "When I tell you that you're the clever one."

The redhead attached her cloak with a chuckle.

* * *

"Adele!"

It took a few seconds for Elsa to understand that Anna was calling her.

"I found us a spot", smiled the redhead as she pointed at the place she was sitting.

It was a bench in the shadows of the docks, and if Elsa hadn't recognized Anna's voice, she would never have noticed her under her hood with her fiery hair hidden in a bun under the fabric. She made her way to her after getting food from the stand.

"Here. I asked for a double dose of sauce on yours."

"Ooooh, neat!" Exclaimed Anna, clapping her hands before taking the skewer she was giving her.

As Elsa ate her grilled meat with a satisfied hum and looked at the people chatting on the market square, Anna counted how much money they had left. She giggled as she noticed how, back at the time they were in, the coins had Arendelle's crocus on one side, and the castle on the other.

"Hey, look." She said, holding one at Elsa's eye level. "The design was different. I prefer the ones from our present time with your face on, but those are pretty. Doesn't that remind you of when Papa told us about how money works?"

The Snow Queen had to shift the edge of her hood aside to see what she was showing her. She had tied her platinum blonde hair in a braid to hide it in her back, and blocked the hood's material. She smiled at the coin.

"Yes. I remember how desperate he was when he tried to explain to you what money was for. You were convinced that one can buy goods and services with hugs and love."

Anna laughed out loud. "Well, I still do."

Elsa smiled as they continued to eat.

The market place became crowded quickly, Arendellians enjoying the warm weather to eat dinner outside and enjoy the animations near the harbor.

"To think that at the moment we speak, he's right over there, in the castle… Coming back from the Forest and probably panicked about all that happened…" Muttered Anna once she finished eating, and staring at the castle's walls.

The elder nodded sadly. "It's difficult to resist the urge to go tell him that everything will be fine. But it's something he has to face alone."

They didn't add anything else, minutes passing by, and cuddled against each other.

Elsa lifted her head as the crowd became thicker and more noisy, and a man and a woman near them got louder in their exchange. Anna followed the same movement.

"Have you heard the rumors? The King is dead!" Muttered the woman.

The man gasped and covered his mouth. "Odin's name, really?"

Anna grumbled. "That's not much of a waste."

She got nudged by her elder. "Anna!"

The redhead gave her a look. "Why are you scolding me? You know I'm right. As cruel as it is to say it, our grandfather was a terrible man. Even if we're talking about family, I'm not feeling any sadness for him."

"Still…" Muttered Elsa, but deep inside, she totally agreed with Anna.

The difference between them was that Anna felt no shame in stating it out loud, when Elsa heeld all her anger against him inside her since the moment she discovered the truth about him, and how he…

"I heard rumors saying that the chief of some clan up North killed him." Revealed the woman.

"That's the other way around." Groaned Anna through gritted teeth.

He was the one who killed the Northuldra chief. To hear someone spread the fake news actually brought Elsa to a state of internal rage, and she had to physically restrain herself to not stand up right then and yell to the face of the woman that she got it all wrong.

Her hands clenched on the bench, and Anna noticed it. Her gaze turned to Elsa's face, and she smiled sadly.

"Yes, now I get it. As difficult as it is, we must not take action." She whispered, putting her hand on Elsa's.

To their relief, the two people walked somewhere else, but Elsa knew that they were going to think they know the truth for 30 years. Until Anna and herself would explain on the public square what really happened after they got back from their adventures up North, announce their new roles as two sides of the Bridge, and more importantly talk about how they both are in fact half-Northuldra.

"Are you okay?" Wondered Anna.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… Thinking."

Elsa suddenly turned her eyes away from the two people to stare at her younger. "Why? Is it cold? Does the air seem colder to you?"

Anna gave her a warm smile, and it chased her fear away in an instant. "Elsa, you have full control now. You know it. You don't have to be afraid about that anymore."

"But still…"

"When was the last time it happened? Hum?" Still smiled her sister. "We worked on it after the Great Thaw. And since you're the Fifth Spirit, I hadn't felt once a moment where you chilled the room."

She then snorted, and Elsa frowned. "What?"

"I'm thinking of a pun. Ironically, things are not cold anymore because now, you just chill. It's funny, no?"

There was a silence as the blonde had a jaded expression.

"I don't know what I would be without you, Anna, but sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you as a sister."

Anna grinned. "Come on, you loved it."

* * *

The sun set faster than they expected on the Arendelle's horizon. It was obvious that they couldn't go sleep in a hotel, and the night would be warm, so they decided to go up on the hills where they knew no one lived to sleep outside.

Building a camp and lighting a fire now was something they became masters at; years of living in the Forest and ice powers helped a lot.

Once Elsa was done crafting an ice hut with large moves of the hands, Anna snorted.

"You couldn't help drawing that snowflake above the entrance, uh?"

Elsa bit her lip to hold a chuckle. "It's not a snowflake, though. It's the Spirits symbol. At least it's up to date."

"You boastful dork."

They looked at the beautiful sunset in the distance, and were at the perfect place to admire it. With satisfaction, they sat on the grass and admired how it covered the kingdom, which would later become theirs, in an orange blanket.

"Do you think that tomorrow, we'll wake up and it was all just a dream?" Wondered Anna.

Elsa snorted. "I doubt it. It feels very real, too real even. But we'll find a way to get back. I never loose hope as long as I'm with you."

Anna smiled. "I always try to help people be positive."

Elsa sighed in happiness, eyes on the horizon.

"It's true, you do. She'll be very lucky to have you."

"Who?"

"Your daugh-"

Elsa suddenly interrupted herself with a gasp. She slammed her hand on her mouth, her face distorted in a fearful expression, shocked and panicked to have let that slip out.

"…What?" Muttered Anna.

There was a silence, Elsa gasping again, and tears of disappointment towards herself filled her eyes.

The redhead stared at her. "Did you just say… My daughter?"

Elsa was still mute, her hand clamped to her mouth.

"What do you mean?" Asked Anna, her eyes wide. "Elsa, what do you mean, my  _ daughter? _ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho-hoooo... Mmmmaybe that this slip of the tongue is due to... Something that Elsa... Has seen? Mmmmmaybeeeee? You'll know everything on the next chapter :P
> 
> We've reached the exact middle of the fanfic! It will be 8 chapters long. Drama is not over, dearies... ;)   
> I take this opportunity to tell you that if you like my writing style, my 140K words long fanfic called 'Untangling the Frozen Knots' is available in printed novel version now. :D The link is in my bio!


	5. Mother Arendelle

"What do you mean? Elsa, what do you mean?"

The Snow Queen still was holding her mouth, hiding it, and one could tell she wanted to hide her whole self behind it. She couldn't believe she had let the truth escape her. She wished she was able to summon Gale right then to swoop her away in a 'nope nope nope you heard nothing!' method.

"Elsaaa…" Grumbled Anna, who hadn't had any answer from her sister for several seconds now.

Her tone, which was confused until now, had switched to a scolding one.

The elder shook her head, clearly indicating she didn't want to explain. "Shouldn't have said that… Shouldn't have said that…"

Anna frowned at her mumbling, and noticed the state Elsa was in. She shifted a bit as they were both still seated on the evening grass, and put a hand on her elder's shoulder. "Are you okay? Wait, is that… The memory of the future that Ahtohallan showed you?" Understood Anna, her eyes widening.

Elsa had a muffled yelp behind her hand, and nodded. Anna gasped at the news, now realizing that she truly would, one day, have a daughter. Her breathing sped up, and she was about to reply. The blonde thought she would panic. But instead, Anna went:

"How the  _ hell  _ did you manage to refrain yourself all that time and not tell me  _ right away _ that you saw my daughter?!"

Her voice was overflowing with astonishment.

"I'd have spilled the beans like, two seconds after waking up." She continued.

Elsa smiled a bit behind her hand. Anna had so much positive energy that she lowered her hand.

"I didn't just see her. I also saw you, older, and there was Kristoff too, and–"

Anna let out strangled noises. "WAIT, WHAT?"

"Oh my God. Oh my God why did I say that." Panicked Elsa, realizing once again that her sentence slipped away. She hurried to stand up, stumbling on the grass, and was about to ran as far as possible.

The redhead closed her dropped jaw to bend her head with amusement.

"Elsa, where are you even going. We're in the middle of a valley."

The Snow Queen stopped in her movement for what was about to be indeed ridiculous, and slowly turned around to go back to her younger, who looked at her with a warm smile.

"Come on. Sit back down. It clearly put you in a crazy state. It's okay. We'll go at your own rhythm. Explain it to me bit by bit if needed."

Elsa looked at Anna's teal blue eyes as she sat next to her. She couldn't help but smile. Anna now had the opportunity to ask all the questions she wanted to know about her own future, and she still wanted to make Elsa comfortable about it first? For the second time in the day, she got emotional at her sister's unique altruistic care.

She calmed down, and took at long inspiration, then exhaled. "There are several reasons why I haven't told you right away. And the first one is obvious, it's because I  _ can't  _ reveal the future, Anna!"

"What? Oh, please, you can't just drop the bomb that you saw me and Kristoff as parents and not tell me anything about it!"

Her little sister's big eyes were so insisting and excited that Elsa had no way to resist it. And she spilled another detail.

"You weren't parents. I mean, technically, yes, but you had just given birth and- STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, I'M SAYING IT ALL NOW!"

She buried her face in her hands, groaning in frustration. It was a good thing she now had perfect control of her magic and that it wasn't linked to her emotions anymore, because otherwise the whole grass would be covered with ice.

"You… Saw me… Being in labor?" Muttered Anna.

A deep blue eye peeked at her through pale fingers. The elder nodded.

"Elsa, that's… That's just wonderful. Oddly unsettling and quite weird, but… That's really wonderful."

A silence passed. A thousand questions burned Anna's lips, but she promised to take things on Elsa's rhythm. She gently stroked her arms, allowing the latter to lift her face from her hands.

"And then?"

The blonde gulped.

"That's the memory of the future that Ahtohallan showed me, and which proved that I changed the timeline by my presence in the woods that day… You, older, giving birth to your future daughter, with Kristoff by your side, and Gerda wrapping her in a blanket."

Anna emotion's overflowed her whole soul. She shivered in raw joy, and gasped with delight, squealing even. A daughter. She would have a daughter. She would have kids! She never would have believed the news if it were another person than her sister telling her. Anna knew instantly that Elsa was telling the truth. It was real. It's what she had seen, what Ahtohallan had showed her. The Queen's brain felt dizzy with joy. That was the future. Later, she and Kristoff would have a daughter.

Anna smiled and rubbed her eyes so she could see Elsa sharply after having so many tears on her lashes.

"That's… Woaw… Amazing… And excellent news, right? What's wrong? Why are you making that face? Why did Ahtohallan show this memory of the future as the 'bad' consequence of you being in the woods that day?"

Despite Elsa's evident pride for her sister becoming a mother, she could see sadness. The blonde took her time to answer, and this time, she looked at Anna straight in the eyes.

"You were the only people in the room. You, Kristoff, Gerda, Kai and two maids. That was all. I wasn't there."

The redhead went speechless. Long seconds passed.

"Or rather… I won't be there." Corrected Elsa. "It means I was gone. I'll be dead before it happens."

Anna's mouth went in a O, then her jaw dropped, then she searched her words, and she blinked in confusion.

"Wh- How did it possibly lead to you dying? Before I even got to be a mother?"

"I don't know."

"Is it linked to me?" Worried the Queen.

"I don't know, Anna."

Elsa bit her lips, and added: "I only saw you giving birth to her. That's all. No context, whatsoever. Just my absence."

Anna clenched the hand that wasn't on Elsa's arm, grass blades snatched in her fist. Sometimes she purely hated how cryptic Ahtohallan was. She could never tell if they were mysterious on purpose, and it drove her nuts at some points during the past years.

"Okay, hum… Try to get some clues. What was my daughter's name? How did we call her? I mean, how will we call her?"

"I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, Anna!"

"Right. It would influence me. Oh, too bad, I'm dying to know what is was. I mean is. I mean, will be. Damn, I'm so excited I can't talk properly!" She squealed.

The Queen cleared her throat to remain serious. They had to stay focused.

"What did we say?"

Elsa didn't have to think much. It felt like it was printed in her brain. "It started with Gerda announcing 'It's a girl!'. Kristoff said 'Called it!'. Then Kai asked how he knew as he laughed, and Kristoff laughed back and said that she kicked in your belly for months with your type of energy. You laughed too and then the memory ended. I woke up."

Anna brought her hand to her face with a gasp, and bit her lips behind her fingers to not burst in tears right then. Her expression then switched.

"Hey, see? We laughed. Why would I laugh if you're dead?"

"Because Kristoff is funny?"

"I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation!" Insisted Anna.

Elsa grunted.

"I'm dead before that event happens, that's all, Anna. Don't overthink it. It's how the future will happen, I have come to terms with it."

Anna wasn't feeling happy anymore. She felt emotional about Elsa. "You've been thinking about it all that time… Since you woke up on the way to Arendelle… You thought you were going to die by the day I give birth?"

"I don't think. I  _ know  _ it. I can feel that what I saw was the truth. Why wouldn't I be there on the day you become a mother, Anna? Apart from being dead?"

The redhead was about to say something, but Elsa rose a hand.

"Don't bother. You seemed happy and your joy is all that matters to me. You will be a great mother. The best in the world. And your daughter was - will be - so beautiful and–"

"Then it's the proof that you simply were in another room!" Said Anna, not even paying attention to the touching fact that she found her daughter cute. "If you were dead, you'd have seen me crying my heart out for not attending the birth, that's for sure."

Elsa winced, looking down and toying with the grass. "Maybe you'd have mourned before then."

"Excuse me?"

"What? We don't know how many years separate those two events!"

Anna frowned. "Listen, first of all, stop calling it an event. Your death  _ won't  _ happen, okay? Maybe that Ahtohallan is completely wrong, or just has some delirium or something, because, ha, frankly, showing the future, I mean…!" Blabbered Anna, emotion taking over.

Elsa was still looking down.

"Maybe you were in another room with Sven and Olaf", tried Anna.

"I've been thinking about it countless times so far, Anna. It's obvious that Olaf wasn't there because I was dead." Mumbled the blonde.

"WILL YOU  _ STOP _ IT!"

"And reindeers have a lifespan of 12 to 15 years. Sven surely had died a long time ago by then."

"Oh my God, this is getting worse and worse, please stop talking." Blinked Anna.

Elsa lifted her head. "You said you wanted me to share everything about this memory!"

"Yes, not  _ speculate _ about it!" Exclaimed the younger.

"It's true, you know, about the reindeers. I've learned a lot about them by living with the Northuldra. Sorry for Sven but he's gonna die one da—"

Anna muffled her with her hand. Her eyes were filled with an expression Elsa had never seen.

"Will you PLEASE stop talking nonsense?"

The blonde gave her a sorry look. She wasn't apologizing for what she had said, but because she firmly believed that it was the inescapable truth.

As a blank passed, only the distant crickets could be heard, and Anna's heavy breathing due to her emotion for the passed minutes. Elsa blinked slowly, and a tear rolled on Anna's fingers.

This broke the Queen's heart.

"Elsa. Chase those thoughts out of your mind. I swear on my own life that we'll find the truth. I'm certain that you weren't dead on that day. That you won't die before that day comes. And won't die until you're like… 200 years old."

The elder had a bubbling giggle in-between her tears. Anna took her hand away from Elsa's mouth.

"There must be a perfectly logical explanation. No way on Earth I would be as happy as you described if you were gone. Do you hear me?"

It was weakly, but Elsa nodded with a gulp. She shifted forward with her arms opened, and Anna held her close in a hug.

She rubbed her hand in her back. "How you possibly held that secret for this long is completely beyond me." She whispered on her shoulder.

Elsa smiled and hugged her harder. "The certification that you will become a fulfilled mother helped me go through."

After a while, they parted the hug, and Anna rubbed the tears on her elder's cheeks. She got surprised by the gesture. Usually, they did it the other way around. When Anna had a long week of Queen duties and she broke down after Friday game night, when she was nervous asking Elsa for advice, or any moment she got overwhelmed, her sister was always there to gently erase her tears with a soft smile.

Once, Anna heard about the existence of a charity for sloths in tropical rain forests, and she had cried for a whole hour about it. Kristoff didn't know if it was funny or touching, and was glad that Elsa was around to help him deal with her.

"Come on. Let's go to bed. Your ice hut will do perfectly with a weather like this."

They stood up with smiles, and entered Elsa's creation. The temperature inside was ideal.

As they were about to go to sleep, Anna turned to her elder.

"Do you think I'll be a good mother?"

Elsa smiled, turning to face her too. "You're amazing with kids. I've seen the way you take care of Northuldra children or go visit the Arendelle primary school on Wednesday mornings. You'll be an excellent mother, I have no doubt."

Even in the dimmed light now that the night had fallen, she could see her younger blush.

"And what did I look like? In the future memory?"

The blonde smirked. "You just had given birth… So… Quite breathless…" She teased.

Anna now blushed for a different reason. "I-I meant physically! In appearance!"

Elsa smiled. "I only saw you in ice statue, so don't expect much details, but… You had - will have - way longer hair. And you looked more regal than ever."

Anna had a grin. "Okay. And what did Kristoff look like? Super hot I presume."

"That's a bit awkward for me to tell you right before sleeping."

"Ha-ha-ha. Come on, what did he look like? It won't change the course of time if you tell me!"

"Well, he had a beard–"

"OH MY GOD HE HAD A BEARD?!"

* * *

On the next morning, they decided by mutual agreement to go check for answers about their novel-like situation in Arendelle's public library. They went as incognito as they could with their hooded cloaks, yet Elsa was happy to see that the librarian wasn't the same woman as the one in their present time, because she often went in the facility to borrow books about astronomy or nature to bring to the Forest and read to the Northuldra.

However, searching in the Arendelle's public library turned out to be totally useless. Three hours later, Elsa put her elbows on the table, biting into a groan as she passed her fingers through her hair under her hood and closed her eyes. Her revealed sleeves on her wrists, not hidden by the cloak, glittered in the sun light passing by the window, pairing well with the dust floating around.

They had read the equivalent of both their weights in books, desperately looking for anything that would mention a magic glowing rock possibly making people time travel, and hadn't find a single clue. The librarian was eyeing them since they pretended they were scholars doing research for their homework, because Elsa had emptied almost all the shelves, Anna was loud when clapping each book and saying 'Nope!' when it was a failure, and the two of them now were surrounded by giant piles.

Elsa had to conjure all her royal behavior remaining in her to not craft an ice staff right then and start to jump around and yell to let off some steam. She missed Honeymaren and her expertise at making her feel better with a good fight practice after a long day.

Anna didn't hide a groan - it was impossible for her, anyways, thought Elsa - and bumped her forehead on the table. The blonde winced.

"I think we have to admit it. We came to Arendelle for nothing. We thought we would find answers, but there's none. And we put ourselves in danger for nothing."

"Don't say that!" Exclaimed Anna, hating to hear Elsa being pessimistic.

"SHHHH!" Warned the librarian, and both sisters turned to see the woman holding a finger on her lips with a frown.

Anna gave her a sorry gesture. It wasn't the first time she told her that during the morning.

"Don't say that, Elsa." She repeated in a whisper. "At least we searched. And I had no idea that the public library looked like that 30 years ago, so it's good we came to visit it. Oh, and we had the unique opportunity to eat delicious grilled meat yesterday."

Elsa lifted an eyebrow. "I admire your… Random positivity, but none of the books here talk about time travel magic at all. This is a dead end."

The younger had a pout, that turned into a grumble.

"Ughhhhh! This is so frustrating!" She whined.

"SHHHHH!" Now warned half of the people in the library.

Anna urged to hide behind her book. She repeated in a lower voice:

"This is frustrating because I know Papa had books about trolls and stuff. And since we know that Mama was Northuldra, I always wanted to lurk around the castle to see if she didn't hide info on ancient magic as well."

Elsa gave her an undertone look.

"But we can't go in the castle. Not even sneak in. You know we can't."

"Ngnnnnnnnyes." Whined Anna, and she bumped her head against the wood table again, this time adding a 'ouch.'

* * *

"This was our last old time money." Declared Anna as she gave Elsa her sandwich. "I paid both with it and I had several cents left, so I gave it to the musicians over there."

Elsa smiled at her kindness.

"And no, I won't steal more money. There's no way I'm gonna steal again from my citizens, even if I'm not their Queen yet."

The blonde looked at her with a tender expression as she unwrapped her sandwich.

"What?" Asked Anna, seeing her face.

"Nothing. You just make a remarkable leader."

The redhead lifted an amused eyebrow. "Don't tell me you used to steal from Arendellians when you were in charge!"

"Of course not", eye-rolled Elsa. "I just think you have very good morals. This role suits you well. Those last years, it made you an even better person than you already was."

"Aww, thanks."

"Cheers?" Suggested the blonde, lifting her sandwich on Anna's level.

The younger snorted.

"You dork. Okay, cheers. Gosh, to think that if we don't make it back to our time, I'm stuck with your humor until we are like 50 years old, and that will be before we even reach the day of your coronation."

"You can always hang out with my 21 years old self instead of me if you wish."

Anna shook her head. "Just eat."

Elsa giggled, and they enjoyed their sandwiches and the summer breeze on the docks, which had become one of their favorite spots to hang out. After eating, Anna rested her head against Elsa's cloaked shoulder.

She didn't go into a nap, nevertheless.

"Elsa. You know what our last resort is. We should go to Ahtohallan, they surely have answers for us. Maybe they even can show you other memories of the future, and we'll have the proof that you are not dead in the moment you saw."

The Snow Queen patted Anna's head. "And how do we go there?"

"We can cross the mist anytime as long as we hold hands." Reminded Anna, recalling their power as the Bridge.

"I didn't mean that. How do we get to the glacier?"

Anna shrugged. "Duh. You get Nokk."

Elsa stared at her with a dropped jaw. "Have you been listening to ANYTHING that I told you about do's and dont's in time travel?!"

"I  _ did _ .", insisted Anna, retrieving her balance after Elsa made her fall from her shoulder. "But Nokk is  _ mute! _ They wouldn't say anything! You just have to order them not to tell the other spirits and we're good."

The elder was immediately going to reject the idea, yet she stopped in her thrust, her reply stuck in her throat.

"Ha-ha!" Smirked the Queen. "You were about to tell me no but then you realized that this is our only solution."

Elsa bit her lip with a wince nonetheless. "I'm not sure…"

"Come on, we can only cross the Dark Sea with Nokk! You could summon them at some place where no one sees us. You have that power, right?"

"I do, but then what, uh?" Teased Elsa with a voice overflowing with sarcasm. "Hi Nokk, I'm the Fifth Spirit from the future, please take us to the glacier?"

"Well… Yeah?"

A silence fell.

"If it's the challenge part you're afraid of, thinking you'll have to gain their trust all over again, I'm sure you can make it." Said Anna.

"It's NOT THAT!"

"Then what?"

Elsa now was fidgeting with her hands. "If we do that, then… Then as time will go in its loop, it means that Nokk pretended to encounter me for the first time went I originally went to Ahtohallan."

Anna's eyes switched from side to side of Elsa's, trying to understand what was the problem. "…And?"

"Then why did they try to drown me?"

The younger winced internally at that. Even if she appreciated Nokk, she would forever be resentful at how violent they had been with Elsa.

"Well…" Forced to smile Anna. "I know a nerd who would call that a time paradox." She said with a snap. " _ You're  _ the one who asked them to do so."

The blonde clenched her own arm with her hand. "…Please don't be around when I ask them that."

Anna lifted her eyebrows. "Oh, I'll make sure to be around. I want to know if that jerk reacts with a  _ 'Are you crazy, Fifth Spirit? Drown you? Never would I dare!'  _ or _ 'Sure girl. My pleasure.' _

The Snow Queen couldn't help but laugh because of Anna's tone and humor. She giggled as well, and after a while, Elsa slid her hand along her sister's arm to get her hand.

"Let's go then. We've got a long road to do. I know a spot in the Enchanted Forest where I often summon them when we want to go on calm rides. Even Bruni never goes there."

"Oh, that sounds promising."

Anna gave her elder a supportive smile, and Elsa had almost forgotten how radiant those were. She felt powered up like a whole field of sunflowers would do with the star.

* * *

"How come nobody lives there?" Asked Anna once they arrived to the quiet spot indicated by Elsa.

"As you saw, this place is right at the edge of the mist wall", explained the blonde, as they had just come through it. "Northuldra families with young children were afraid to live there because they could play with the fog and maybe hurt themselves. It stayed that way through the years, even until our present time. Oh, and, it's also the territory of wolves."

Anna immediately stopped picking berries to stare at her with round eyes.

"Couldn't you have started with that?!"

Elsa chuckled, especially when she saw Anna's purple lips. "Don't worry. I'm sure they haven't developed much yet. Also, you're not scared of wolves, aren't you?" She added with a smirk.

The Queen remembered how much they had laugh when seeing the memory in ice statue form of Anna slamming a wolf in the face with Kristoff's lute.

"Nah." Shrugged the redhead, finishing her berries and licking her fingers.

Elsa smiled, and they walked to the river. It was a spot where it was large, but the current was calm. The Snow Queen kneeled on the shore under Anna's eyes.

With a soft gesture, she passed her hand into the water, and closed her eyes. Anna couldn't tell if she was sending magic through the river, or calling Nokk mentally, or just checking if the water horse was nearby.

"Hello, Nokk. It might be weird, but what you feel is true." Murmured Elsa after a while. "I do am the Fifth Spirit. I need your help. Please come to me. I summon you and order you to come."

The redhead awkwardly looked at the stream, feeling it was a bit of an intimate moment to witness. Slowly, the surface seemed to beam, and bubbles formed at the surface before Nokk briskly jolted out of the water.

The sisters smiled and stepped back as the magic horse trotted on the water, looking and inspecting the pair.

"Hi." Waved Anna with a nervous smile.

Elsa stood by her younger.

"This is my sister. Explanations will come later, I promise, but now you have to trust me: she's the other half of the Bridge. We kind of both make the Fifth Spirit."

Nokk didn't neigh nor snort at Elsa's sentence, and remained quiet as they looked at her, then Anna.

"We need your help to cross the Dark Sea." Imposed Elsa.

Long seconds of silence passed, and then Nokk stepped back, and to the sisters' surprise, seemed to return into the water.

"What are they doing? Do they want to show us something? Or check if the water way is clear?" Frowned Anna.

"I don't know." Admitted Elsa. It was difficult for her to establish a mental connection with the Water Spirit, and she knew that it was because they didn't trust her yet. So she truly had no idea how they felt about the situation.

For a moment, only the sound of the woods came to their ears. Then suddenly, the river shook in waves, and they rippled in their direction, becoming larger and wider, to the point it looked unnatural for such a watercourse.

"Hummm…" Muttered Anna.

Elsa squinted, inspecting the inside of the waves, now several meters high. It was barely perceptible, but experience allowed her to see a shape into the water: Nokk was rushing to them at great speed, and their eyes were frowning and glowing with a typical blue that was rooted in Elsa's brain forever.

She swung to her sister.

"ANNA, DUCK!"

The redhead obeyed and they both dodged Nokk's attack right in time. The wave crashed in between them as they rolled on the shore. When Anna stood up again, she turned to her sister.

"In other circumstances, I'd have joked on the fact that it's a horse and not a duck, but, yeah. Not gonna do that."

"You just did." Underlined Elsa, placing herself in a way she could better see the Water Spirit's next blast.

"Fair enough." Snorted Anna.

A second later, a new wave approached, and this time, it was nearly three times bigger than the first one. And just as faster.

Elsa hurried to protect her little sister with a giant ice shield. Water splashed on it, elevating in a pillar, and when it felt down with gravity, big drops of it went on both Elsa and Anna. They winced, and shook their heads now covered with wet hair.

"Woaw. Okay." Coughed Anna, spitting the water she had swallowed.

"I suppose that they have to challenge my worth anyway!" Yelled Elsa above the crashing waves.

She replaced the shattered ice with new one, and protected Anna again for she new that other waves would attack them. She could hear Nokk's angry neigh in front of them, behind the new ice shield.

The Queen took off her cloak to get a better vision now that her hair was stuck to her face, and tossed it away before tucking her hair behind her ears. When she turned to Elsa to suggest to get rid of her cloak as well, she noticed that she had already done so, now sporting a ponytail - that was quite ironic - fixed with an ice touch, and she had vanished the double train of her white outfit. If the Snow Queen's aura was impressive, the redhead could still read some worry on her face.

Anna came closer to her. "Okay. This won't be easy. But hey, let's try to be positive. This is a river, this won't be more difficult than when you had to fight them in a stormy sea, right?"

As if on cue, Nokk then suddenly raised an enormous wave above them, that looked as tall as the Arendelle walls. Both sisters looked up at the upcoming danger, eyes wide, their face dipped in the blue-tinted shadow made by the water.

"Oh, shit." Let out Anna.

But to her surprise, Elsa didn't lose any faith nor bravery. Anna felt her grab her hand while the water started to fall down toward them, and when she turned to the blonde, she had a determined gaze, her face dripping wet but strong.

"This time, we're together." She stated in a yell. "Let's see what the two sides of the Bridge can do against the Water Spirit."

And right after those words and just before the wave slammed the sisters down, Elsa lifted her other hand. In a flick of the wrist, she encapsulated them both in a giant ice sphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter *definitely* was the moment when I could unroll my big 'headcanons about Frohana's future' list. Now please someone contact WDAS and beg them to include a bearded!Kristoff in Frozen 3 PLEASE 
> 
> Also, epicness is coming!   
> Nobody:   
> Nokk: so you have chosen death


	6. I seek the truth

Anna looked around as several breaches appeared here and there, and water started to get in.

"Uhm... Elsa?"

The Fifth Spirit was grunting as she tried to hold the ice sphere in place, her hands rose on each side of her, and exhaling bright blue. However, Nokk had proven themselves to be way more clever than planned: the water pressure around Elsa's creation now was so high that it would soon crush them.

"I think we should get a new plan." Said Anna, biting her lip.

Elsa nodded reluctantly. Making a perfect ice sphere to hold both of them already was some work, but holding it underwater asked her a lot of energy. And it wasn't the right time to lose some.

"Okay." She groaned. "Hold to me. We're heading to the surface."

Anna urged to hug her, and held her breath then closed her eyes. In a flash of magic, Elsa vanished the sphere and all the water of the river now crashed on them. To avoid the shock, the blonde blasted a powerful gust of ice under their feet, holding her sister with her other hand, and they got propelled to the surface.

They both gasped for air and swam around.

"Where are they? Where are they?" Panicked Anna, blinking and looking around.

"Relax. They're further, preparing the next attack. We have a couple of seconds, I know how they proceed."

"Okay." Breathed out Anna.

She felt Elsa grab her hand underwater, and the blonde formed an ice platform with her left one before helping Anna climb on it. The redhead smiled at the decoration and thickness of the platform, passing a hand along the detailed surface, even though her sister made it in a snap.

"Sorry, no time for admiring." Warned Elsa, grabbing her arm to make her stand up.

The younger blinked. How much stamina did Elsa have, exactly?

"They're coming."

Anna held to her, and with a flick of the wrist, the blonde moved the platform aside. Nokk missed them, diving back into the water along their enormous wave.

For several other times, Elsa purposely avoided their blows instead of hitting them back. Sometimes, the Water Spirit managed to push them, and now they were both panting on the platform for how many times they had been sent underwater. Anna was already exhausted, even if she wasn't giving up. Now she had even more admiration for her sister who had to face them during a storm.

"Why don't you lasso them?!" Yelled Anna to cover the sound of the waves, her eyes squinting because of the water splashes. "I saw the way you did it in an ice memory. You can create a bridle!"

Elsa shook her head. She obviously had thought of it. "I can't. That's the way I beat them in the future. If I do that technique now, I won't win the challenge in 30 years."

Anna wanted to say a 'oh, yeah, right, clever' but got knocked down by a wave.

"ANNA!"

The redhead came back on the platform, stood up again and raised her hand as a reassuring gesture, despite being completely drenched. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Is my platform unstable?" Asked Elsa.

"No, it's perfect. Don't worry, I always feel more safe on your ice than anywhere else."

She came back close to Elsa, and the elder passed a hand in her back to held her close to her. The gesture actually gave an idea to Anna. She raised her voice to make sure Elsa heard her before Nokk eventually hit again.

"You know, they only attack us when we're close to each other. In fact, they attack you in priority, because they can sense you're a danger with your magic. But I'm sure that if we separate, they'll pick you instead of me."

"No chance that we split." Refused Elsa with a shake of the head.

Anna however hadn't waited for her approval.

"Watch."

On that simple warning that wasn't even loud enough for the blonde to be warned, she dived into the water, and Elsa's eyes widened.

"ANNA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The blonde looked at her sister swim away, but Nokk had assembled a new wave and was about to crash it down on Elsa's face. She dodged right in time, and it turned out that Anna was right; she hadn't been targeted. The Water Spirit preferred to aim at Elsa.

She formed an ice barrier to prepare the next counter-attack, and searched for her sister on the water's surface.

"ANNA!"

She only saw a little dot of red hair in the distance, joggled by the waves.

"ANNA!" Screamed the elder with all the force of her lungs.

Her instinct knew that Anna was safe and that she knew what she was doing, but she couldn't help but worry.

She was about to scream one more time, seeing that Anna was letting herself rise with another wave, but Nokk attacked, so Elsa got distracted. And she wasn't the only one.

As Nokk accompanied the move of their wave to slam Elsa down, Anna took them by surprise and appeared right on top of the wave. For a second there, the elder thought she was floating in between air and water, and had a divine illusion of Anna flying and arriving right on Nokk's back.

In a mix of grunts and magical horse neighs, the Queen then proceeded to rodeo Nokk, who clearly didn't plan this. With expertise, and Elsa congratulated herself to have let her hang out this much with Ryder and the reindeers, Anna circled the neck of the Water Spirit to have a hold on them as she tried to stay on their back as much as she could.

Elsa was terrified, but also genuinely impressed, so she stood there, still on her platform, only moving with the ripples of the water. The waves started to calm, and she knew the challenge was about to end, Nokk slowly accepting their defeat.

The blonde blinked when she suddenly remembered that she could help Anna, even if she looked like she could wrestle the horse anytime. She slammed her foot down on the platform, and it instantly extended under the horses hooves, so it wouldn't have any direct contact with water. Elsa then raised borders to the platforms, so big that the ensemble now looked like a cage that was as large as half the river.

"There we go." Smirked Elsa. "Sorry, old friend, but you're trapped."

Nokk whined in their inferiority. How come those two knew exactly their weaknesses? They grunt as they took the mental note, if the occasion arises again, to quickly kick that Fifth Spirit out of her ice platform to avoid that.

The water finally calmed, in all meanings of the term. Anna cheerfully made Nokk trot along the now still surface to join her elder. The redhead jumped down and came on the ice platform. "Not bad, uh?" She smirked as Elsa walked to her.

"NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Anna winced at the way Elsa had just clenched both her hands on her arms. Not only the water was cold, but her elder's hands were even more.

"Sorry. But it worked!"

The blonde's eyes were filled with anxiety and she knew she had made a mistake.

"Sorry." She hurried to repeat. "I know it made you worry to death. But it paid off. We managed to win Nokk's challenge. Together."

She put a reassuring hand on Elsa's, and it was so loving and warm that the latter exhaled in relief, before going forward and hugging her little sister.

"Still. Never do that again."

"I won't." Promised Anna, passing a hand along Elsa's back.

They were both drenched, and the blonde only wore a simple layer, so it felt like she was rubbing her back directly.

"Come on." Encouraged Anna. "We have answers to get. Let's head to Ahtohallan."

She turned to Nokk, and Elsa hesitated a bit before raising her hand and petting their nose. The Water Spirit agreed, for they had won their challenge, and now respected them.

"Do you, uh... Want to be the one who rides them? I'll sit behind you." Suggested Anna.

Elsa took her hand. "No, Anna. You're the one who succeeded to control them. You should be the one guiding. I'll go behind."

The Queen smiled with a blush, and nodded. It wasn't the first time they rode Nokk together, hopefully, and she hoped that Nokk wouldn't find it weird that they would go that way for their first ride ever.

After they petted the Spirit and climbed on their back, Anna smiled to her elder.

"Hey, we managed to beat them way faster than the time you did, uh?"

Elsa smirked. "Well, in my defense, it actually was the second time they fought me then. So they had more experience. And I was on my own."

Anna had a little laugh. "That's the proof you can't do much without me." She teased.

The blonde actually returned her a smile. "I would be _nothing_ without you."

* * *

"This is awesome!" Exclaimed Anna, her joyful laughter floating in the wind and coming to her sister's ears behind her. "I didn't know that riding Nokk on the river would be so much fun."

"I never took you on a ride on the river?"

"No, never! Only the Dark Sea, or some other spots."

Elsa smiled. "When we get home, I mean, to our time, remind me of it. I promise I'll fix that."

Anna giggled, and when they finally reached the end of the river and approached the Dark Sea, she commanded Nokk to dash forward with a slight impulse of the heels. The Spirit happily jumped on the waves, which magically calmed down to make their riders more comfortable. After a while, Ahtohallan appeared on the horizon, and they both smiled.

It was exactly like the last time Elsa had laid eyes on it, and she thought that, in the perspective of the magical source, which was a glacier since the edge of time, 30 years must feel like blinking.

Anna slowed down Nokk and they both went down on the frozen shore. The Water Spirit still was incredibly confused at how the two women perfectly handled the situation.

Elsa could feel their emotion now that they had a bond due to mutual respect, and touched their forehead with hers while Anna stepped on the glacier and poured water out of her boots.

"I know this is all puzzling, but it will make sense, I promise." Murmured Elsa to Nokk. "However, the less I tell you, the better it is. Just know that the two of us are the Bridge, and that you were of immense help today. So thank you. And, I'm the Fifth Spirit, and in the future, I can't tell you how many years, I'll want to cross the Dark Sea to reach Ahtohallan."

Nokk's blue eyes widened.

"Yes, I know." Giggled Elsa. "You'll have to prevent me from doing so. Get ready for this fight all that time. Learn from what you saw today. You'll have to challenge me again. Nokk, this is important: challenge me _harder_."

Anna turned around, listening to the conversation discretely.

"I'll truly need you to challenge me harder. Do you think you can do it?" Smiled Elsa, still with a soft voice.

The Water Spirit snorted. That was an odd request.

Elsa then cleared her throat. "Also... You can't tell the other spirits about it. I know it's hard, but please, I'm not only ordering you this, I'm begging you."

Nokk closed their eyes as a nod and a promise. Elsa felt in them that it wasn't such a difficult task; the Spirit was rather solitary, just like her. They weren't as curious as Gale, as excited as Bruni or as indiscreet as the Giants. That's how they bonded so well.

Minutes passed as Elsa kept petting them, their foreheads touching. Anna cleared her throat.

"I don't want to ruin your moment, but we've got stuff to do."

Elsa opened her eyes and turned to her. "Don't be jealous. I just want to say goodbye, they won't see me for so many years..."

"Yeah, I think they can survive." Eye-rolled Anna with a teasing tone.

The Snow Queen chuckled, and joined her sister. Nokk neighed in a 'This was weird, but see you in the future then!' way, and dove into the Dark Sea water, sparkling in the sun light.

Wind rose on the shore of the glacier, and Elsa could feel change coming with it. They would find all the answers here, she knew it.

"Okay, let's do th-this." Stuttered Anna.

Elsa turned around at her words. Only then she noticed that Anna was crossing her arms, hugging herself for heat.

She was completely drenched, and the blonde felt immense guilt for not realizing right away that Anna didn't dry as fast as she did. Unlike her, the strong North wind blowing here only made things worse, and instead of chasing humidity off her skin and hair, it made her clothes stick to herself, and they were trapping her in close cold. Elsa gasped.

"Oh my God, I didn't even- I didn't take this into account. I checked everything before leaving, if your clothes were warm enough to step into the glacier, but I forgot that there was wind-"

"Hey, Elsa, calm down. This is fine. Let's go." Smiled Anna when she saw how rambling she was. Her teeth however were shattering.

"Anna, no. You're shivering with cold."

"I'm okay."

"Stop acting tough. You took care of me when I passed out. Let me take care of you now."

Anna was about to insist, but Elsa raised a warning eyebrow, and she closed her mouth. The blonde rubbed her arms with her hands to warm her up, and it already felt better. It wasn't just bringing heat. Anna wondered if...

"Are you able to take the humidity out of clothes?"

"Of course."

Anna smirked. "That's handy."

Elsa snorted with humility. "Only for you. I don't need it."

The Queen hummed. "Well, keep going. That's awesome."

She lowered her eyes and watched how Elsa was taking the water out of the fabric, crystallizing it on the edge and evaporating it in the air with moves of the fingers. In a couple of minutes, Anna was dry, and only her hair remained wet.

The blonde passed a hand in it and ruffled them, and Anna gasped with a nervous laugh.

"Hey! I'm not a child."

"Sorry for trying to help." Snorted Elsa.

"My hair is fine." Smiled Anna.

She squeezed and brushed it a bit, and after a while - and once the Snow Queen made sure that Anna was okay in a long, annoying way to the latter's taste - they entered Ahtohallan.

* * *

Something quickly felt off to both sisters. Anna came less often than her elder in the glacier, but even her could tell that something was wrong. Elsa hadn't stopped frowning since they had entered the magical place, and it was more than ten minutes ago.

"Do you also get an odd feeling? Or is it just me?" Muttered Anna, her voice in a cloud and gently echoing within the ice walls.

"No, it's definitely real..."

The blonde looked around, confused. She knew that the inside of the glacier wouldn't look the same 30 years before she saw it for the first time, but she didn't expect that kind of difference. Elsa thought she would see the same decoration as the first moment she came in, but in place. When she discovered Ahtohallan, everything was destroyed, collapsed. So she naturally pictured that pillars she had picked up from the floor would be standing tall, that the triangular entrance before the dome would be opened, and so on.

But not only this wasn't what was shown in front of the sisters' eyes, it also seemed to be reversed.

They blinked in confusion as the place that they knew by heart 30 years after seemed to be... Completely flipped at this time. Like up and down, black and white, day and night.

"This is... Weird, no?" Frowned Anna, passing her hand along the walls.

"Definitely." Murmured Elsa, her voice also echoing against the ice, though without a cloud for her part. "I don't get it... Remember the place we passed earlier? There's no pit where there's supposed to be one. You know, the one where I rose ice pillars on my first visit, and now we use ice stairs going down? In that time, it's a filled place. And not only thick ice has replaced the pit, but it also goes _up_."

Anna turned to her elder, lost. "So we went up instead of going down? How is that even possible, physically?"

Elsa was speechless. She didn't like it when she couldn't figure something out, so it bugged her and she simply shrugged. "Ahtohallan is a magical glacier. Physical laws don't apply here."

"Right." Nodded Anna, who appreciated to jump on a magic excuse to not think too much about this unsettling fact.

They could feel it as they walked through the source, as well. It was like everything had been the other way around; or rather, that it was for now.

Still taken aback by the change, the sisters eventually reached the dome, where Elsa expected to take place in the middle of the spirits unity symbol to activate the magical source. But once again, she gasped at a change: the dome wasn't looking at all like the one she was used to see.

Instead of projections on the walls, it was filled with floating lights. Instead of one glass-like area, it was punctuated with hundreds of nuances of cold colors. Anna was utterly confused, and judging by the Snow Queen's face, she was even more.

It wasn't the only disturbing fact. Ahtohallan seemed to have been waiting for them. Some blue then purple then turquoise lights glittered above their heads. Elsa gasped a bit, like the magical source had just talked to her. Anna's experience made her turn to her elder.

"What did they say?"

"They knew we would come."

"Well, it's kind of obvious, no?" Laughed Anna to mask her nervousness. "They know all. And they're the one who gave us this magical glowing time travel rock."

"No, you don't understand..." Murmured Elsa, and the redhead only then noticed that she had said her sentence with confusion. "When they say 'they'... They meant the previous Fifth Spirit."

The Queen lifted her eyebrows. "Wait, what?"

Ahtohallan changed its colors, like they casually started a conversation. Only Elsa could understand though, and Anna waited for her translation, even if the rhythm of the colors appearing and disappearing gave her a clue of the mood of the talk.

"They say that the previous Fifth Spirit saw a memory of us..." Repeated the Snow Queen. "I don't get it... How did they see a memory of us? This is years before we're even born!"

"Maybe Ahtohallan also gave them a vision of the future."

The magic source seemed to help her with a nuance, which Elsa repeated. Apparently, the Fifth Spirit themselves had consulted the memory.

Anna rose her hands. "Wow, wow, wow. One thing at a time. Sorry, this is just going so fast, even geopolitics meetings are simpler at this point. Ahtohallan, who the heck was the Fifth Spirit before Elsa?"

A silence passed.

Elsa snorted slightly. "You ask them this question a dozen times already when we come here. Do you really think it would have worked? They'll never reveal it, at anytime. Even myself can't know who it was."

Anna blushed, and whispered, like it would be actually useful and prevent the source from hearing her. "Shush up. At least I've tried."

She gave a challenging gaze to the source. "I still stick on the theory that it was the Northuldra chief and that they preferred to keep their double role secret."

Ahtohallan brightened with blue and white lights.

"HA! Did they approve? Did they? Am I right?" She exclaimed, happy.

"No, they just told you to stop trying to guess." Laughed Elsa.

"Oh."

The Show Queen stepped forward, passing her hand in between two floating light, her fingers hovering against this other form of communication.

"Ahtohallan, why is your appearance different than the time we are from?"

"That's not the most urgent question..." Commented Anna.

"Shhh!"

"What? It's not like they're _talking!_ " Grumbled the Queen in a whisper.

Lights changed as the glacier answered simply.

"A different purpose?" Repeated Elsa with a frown.

She then understood it all, logic clicking in her brain like two pieces of a puzzle. "A different purpose!" She said, slamming her palm with her fist.

"Yeah, you already translated that." Teased Anna.

"Anna, the previous Fifth Spirit wasn't using Ahtohallan the same way I do! It's a magical source, it... It adapts! It adapts to the will of its guardian!"

The redhead nodded. "Yeah?"

Elsa seemed excited now, and Anna had missed this nerdy spark in her eyes. "It shows what the Fifth Spirit wants to see. I've long figured that they showed me Mother on my first visit because I needed her. It's what I unconsciously asked them to do. Then I formed memories of the past in the dome - in that very dome - because I not only needed to know what happened in the past to right a wrong, I also needed support!"

"I see." Exhaled Anna, her jaw dropping.

"Anna, what if... What if back then, I mean now, Ahtohallan used to show memories of the future, not of the past?"

The redhead looked at her like she was crazy. "Elsa, I love you with all my heart, and I admire your imagination, truly, but... That's not possible, right?"

Ahtohallan didn't seem to intervene to prove one or the other was right or wrong. It was all theory time, and the mystery source was doing a great job at being mysterious.

Anna tried to remember the Northuldra lullaby, which was kind of the only basis knowledge they had about Ahtohallan.

"...A river full of memory..." She muttered. "It never was specified that they were memories of the past or the future."

Elsa's jaw dropped slightly as she made the same observation than her.

"...Can you brave what you most fear..." She quoted. "This part clearly was about memories of the future! How did I _not_ see that?!"

Anna smiled. "We only notice it now. Like it was under our eyes since the beginning but we never really saw it. Quite literally."

"All is found." Said Elsa. "In the past, as well as in the future."

Her tone was overflowing with excitement, like she always did when she learned about a new feature magic could provide. "I use the source to see memories of the past, and the previous Fifth Spirit - who has just passed away, if we stick to your theory that it was the Northuldra chief - used it to see memories of the future!"

Her eyes glittered as she looked around looking for her words. "It's like... Like... A space of relative time!"

Anna pouted. "It would sound better if you changed the order of the words. Like, call it time and relative dimension, or something."

"Whatever." Smirked Elsa, waving her hand. "Don't you see? We found the reason why the source transported us to this time 30 years ago!"

She raised her head to the dome, and Anna seriously got concerned she would get a whiplash for how fast her excitement made her do that.

"You took us to the moment the Forest got sealed because it was at time when you could show the Fifth Spirit memories of the future! And you needed to show me something!"

The younger stepped next to her. "But what? What did they want to show you? What was it?"

"They didn't show me entirely, I think. There are still elements I need to see, just like I had to see several moments to understand what happened with our grandfather." Elsa shared out loud, raising a reflexive finger.

Anna smiled. "Hum. It makes sense. So it was all planned to warn you about something that will happen in the future."

Elsa nodded, looking around. "Yes. They needed my help to- OH NO."

"What? What what what?" Panicked Anna.

"We shouldn't have prevented it to happen then!" Worried Elsa, fidgeting with her hands. "I shouldn't have modified the cart to delay your visit in the Forest! Because of that, I may have changed all of what Ahtohallan..."

"No, no, I think it actually didn't change anything." Assured Anna.

The magical source didn't react to Elsa's panic either, so the elder interpreted that she was right. But what did she mean? The redhead saw her expression and smiled as she explained.

"You remember when you said that it was all destiny? It doesn't matter if we try to prevent or encourage it to happen. It _will_ happen. It's the future. To use my only knowledge of time travel there is - in other words, what I read in books..." Anna said, side-looking her sister, "...Time actually isn't linear."

Elsa remained silent as she listened, and the Queen kept going. "We think that it is, because past is before present which is before future, and so on. But it's not. Time is relative, and it's a loop. A circle, not a line. Even when we think we change the course of it, it actually always falls back in place."

Her elder stared at her into her eyes.

"What?" Chuckled Anna.

Now Elsa but her hands on her hips, puffing with a smirk. "How come you always mock me as being a nerd, when you're actually worse than me?"

Anna smiled. "Not worse. Better. I'm a _better_ nerd."

She snorted. "Just kidding. I just love teasing you, that's all. And trust me, you very VERY often deserve it with your horrendous tendency to be extra."

Elsa nudged her with tenderness. "You figured it all out. Again."

Some purple and pink lights sparkled in the dome. Anna worried. "Did they just say we should hurry up? Sorry, we're talking a bit much..."

"No, they're actually congratulating you for figuring it out." Smiled Elsa.

Anna squinted. "Really?"

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I believe _you_ . I just don't always believe _them_."

A pulse of cold came under her feet and made her shiver. "Ouch! Hey!"

Elsa giggled. "Watch it. You know they're susceptible."

"Yeah, and sometimes I wonder if it was carried as well when they gave you your powers..." Muttered Anna as she rubbed her arms to chase her shiver.

"Sorry for not fully accepting the compliment", she said higher. "I'm still a bit mad about the fact you haunted Elsa day and night with a voice."

The blonde eye-rolled.

"And the fact that it's revealed now that you are a timeless deity, and yet you didn't give us much clues."

"You're just angry because you don't like mysterious stuff." Pointed out Elsa, amused by the situation.

Anna grunted as an answer.

Elsa put a hand on her younger's shoulder.

"So, what is the event of the future you wanted to warn me about?" She asked to the dome. "Please show me the remaining memories of the future I need to understand it all."

New lights appeared in the air, and they were more numerous, like the source was charging something. Elsa quickly turned to her sister. "Get ready to catch me in case I faint. They'll show me what will happen anytime no-"

The Snow Queen hadn't finished her sentence that her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled. Anna's eyes widened as she hurried to grab her elder in her arms.

"Wow!"

She thankfully caught the unconscious body of her sister right in time, because she had been standing at her side, but still gave a frown to the magical source. "Hey, better give us some warning next time..."

However, Ahtohallan didn't respond. They were focused on whatever they were sending to Elsa's brain now, and only the latter could tell what she saw.

Anna gently sat on the ice floor, Elsa's body in her arms, looking at her relaxed face and closed eyes. With a smile, she put her head against her arm, and waited for her to wake up again with what would be life-changing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When we learned that both sisters actually compose the Fifth Spirit, I was kind mad that Elsa had 3 challenges and Anna 'only' 1. I know, it's dumb to compare, but still... I felt it was fair to let her wind this challenge against Nokk. My badass baby has GUTS.  
> I also had fun with the time travel rules explanation and the concept of Ahtohallan being flipped upside-down, and thus working the other way around. Fair warning: you are NOT prepared for the upcoming feels...


	7. Safe and sound

As Elsa opened her eyes - even though, she thought, she didn't really opened them, because Ahtohallan was projecting the memories of the future into her mind - she was welcome by a melodious and soft music.

The notes turned into a song as a gentle male voice accompanied them, and Elsa looked around trying to understand where she was standing.

This was Anna's and Kristoff's bedroom. It had been only Anna's, a long time ago, then they had redesigned it from the moment Kristoff lived in the castle, and Elsa had seen its design change once again in the future memory of Anna giving birth to her daughter. But here, it had a different structure, though half-familiar, and the Snow Queen easily guessed that what she was about to witness was happening before the memory that was submitted to her in the Forest.

She finally laid eyes on the source of the music, and found a moving ice statue representing Kristoff playing the lute, seated on the bed, as Anna was on the sheets next to him, her face adorned with a dreamy smile. She had a hand against the pillow next to her, and the other was absentmindedly rubbing her belly.

Elsa loudly gasped with emotion when she saw that Anna was pregnant, and visibly in the last months. She immediately covered her mouth, fearing for a second that she ruined the soft lullaby Kristoff was playing. Thankfully, she wasn't really there, them neither, and they were all just sharing a moment lost in time.

Lost in time, but real. The blonde felt her eyes sting at the thought, and her stomach leaped a bit. This would become true. This was the future. Kristoff was singing to his wife one of the most tender songs she had ever heard from him, and Anna was looking at him singing like she was in the best place in the entire world.

Once he was finished, it took all of Elsa's will to not clap right then in awe or sigh with delight as Kristoff placed his hand above Anna's on her belly. She had to focus on what they were saying. She couldn't help but think, despite the beauty of the scene: was she already dead in that moment?

Kristoff bent to his wife to kiss her in the hair, then he shifted to kiss her belly. He smiled after he did.

"Oh, I'm very lucky tonight." He said, his voice a bit crystalline and reverberated in ice statue form. "No kick in the face. I won't lose a teeth this time."

Anna giggled, but also eye-rolled. "Come on. Don't exaggerate. It had just been a tiny kick."

"Still. She's as strong as you, and I'm sure that one centimeter to the right would have knocked me down."

They both laughed, then kissed, and Elsa shed a tear at Anna's voice. It was the first time she heard her talking as a grown adult, and a future mother. Last time she saw her around that age was when she was giving birth, and well, it wasn't the most representative sample… She had mostly heard her scream. Here, she was calm, bathing in love and happiness, and it filled Elsa's heart.

"Hey, you're still persuaded that it's a girl?" Frowned Anna, lifting her face, her long untied hair sliding along the pillow.

"What, this conversation again?" Groaned Kristoff, but he was amused. "Come on, feisty. I told you. Bulda said it would be a girl. The northern lights are never wrong."

"The  _ northern lights _ …" Repeated Anna with a long sigh, exasperated, and Elsa couldn't help but laugh, especially at the face she made as she put her head back down.

Kristoff chuckled. "Don't mock it. It's been proven."

Anna smirked. "Alright. Then we need to think of baby names. I only thought about boys ones."

"Oh yeah? What were your choices?" Asked Kristoff, picking up his lute and idly plucking the chords.

Elsa stepped forward. This conversation was lovely, and she leaned on the edge of the bed made out of ice, her arms crossed, smiling at their soft interaction.

"I was thinking about 'Hans'."

Kristoff missed a heartbeat and his hand slipped on the chords, and Elsa almost fell to the floor at the sentence.

Anna cackled loudly with laughter. "I'm just kidding! Oh my goodness, you should have seen your face!"

"This is not funny." Mumbled Kristoff.

She howled with laughter, and suddenly slammed her hand on her belly when her moves became too big. "Ow, ow, ow…"

"See? Stop saying nonsense, you're going to hurt yourself."

He helped her change her posture on the bed, using his own pillow to put it under her back.

"Thank you. Ugh, I shouldn't have laughed that hard. At least she'll have the sense of humor."

Kristoff and Elsa shook their head at the same time, puffing.

"Do you have ideas for a girl name?" Asked Anna, her voice soft and calm again.

"I've been thinking about Eydis."

"What? What even is that kind of name?" Snorted the Queen.

"It means 'good fortune', but also can be translated into 'goddess' or 'island'." Smiled Kristoff, caressing her belly. "It would be great, don't you think? Your sister would approve it."

Elsa's entire body stiffened as she heard the sentence. Did that mean… What that meant? Was she gone already?

"Okay, you nerd." Puffed Anna. "Well, don't try to convince me with emotion. That's not gonna make me change my mind. It's a no-no."

Kristoff pouted, and Elsa's heart split in half. 'With emotion' echoed in her mind. So she was dead before this scene happened. She was dead before Anna even finished her pregnancy.

If present Anna was there by her side, she would convince her that she had to wait for more clues, and was taking things out of context. But she wasn't there. And Elsa knew that it was too many coincidences for it to not be the truth.

As Kristoff kept defending his choice of name, Elsa winced. She sighed and forced herself to smile. At least she could enjoy this moment of them.

"How about Alexandria?" Suggested Anna with a big smile.

Kristoff groaned. "That's sounds a bit like a disease."

"What? Come onnnn, be supportive!"

"I would if that didn't sound like a disease."

She nudged him on the shoulder, and he chuckled, continuing his soft plucking of the chords. The scene was so sweet that it actually made Elsa grin, and she forgot her sadness.

"Okay, I'm gonna think about another one." Accepted Anna.

She then turned to him with a warning finger. "But we're never ever going to pick your name."

* * *

"Hi, Eydis." Smiled Anna with a soft voice.

Elsa blinked when the memory suddenly changed. The room was the same, still filled with moving ice statues, but there were more people, and the furniture had changed. It was back to the design Elsa had seen in the memory when Anna had given birth.

And then it hit her. This was what happened right afterwards.

With an emotional gasp, Elsa ran to the tiny baby Anna was holding in the crook of her arms with a smile, and that Kristoff and her couldn't detach their eyes from. Anna was gently rubbing her cheek with her thumb, her eyes filled with maternal love, and the elder felt her heart leap at the beautiful scene.

The baby was adorable, and the blonde started crying along the new parents as they all stared at it.

"Eydis of Arendelle. You've got all the world to discover." Whispered Kristoff, like he feared that talking too loud would shatter the fragile skin of his daughter.

Elsa rubbed her tears so she would stop seeing blur, and smiled to the blond as he caressed the head of the sleeping baby. It looked infinitely cute, and Elsa wished she could say the same of Anna, but she had messy hair, and some locks were stuck to her face because of her sweat.

With a chuckle, Elsa looked at her, and lifted her hand as she wanted to put some of her hair behind her ear and tell her how amazing she had been in her labor.

However, this only was a memory, even if it was from the future, and she only contented herself with a supportive smile as she saw Anna hold Eydis closer to her chest.

The Fifth Spirit looked around, looking one last time with one last hope that she was indeed present in the room, but hadn't noticed. Nevertheless, she definitely wasn't. With a pinch to the heart, she looked at Kristoff and Anna kissing each other, then the redhead giggled with happiness. Seeing them both admire their daughter, who brought such touching smiles on their faces, and would become the future of Arendelle, was enough to make her lips stretch in a content smile, and she enjoyed the moment as it was.

* * *

A new flash appeared as the memory changed. Now, a lot of years had passed, easy to notice for the blonde in a simple stare: the furniture was different, and maybe even the wallpaper, but she couldn't tell which color it was, for everything was cyan and white in ice statues.

Elsa squinted as she walked to the bed, and tried to recognized the ones present there. She gasped in joy when she saw how adorable Eydis had grown up to be. She now was around 10 years old, and reminded her of Anna was she was her age. She wanted to step further to see how cute she was, but the little girl shifted in her sheets as Anna, now an older adult, kissed her on the forehead.

They both giggled, and the Snow Queen masked a giggle behind her hand as well. She couldn't help but hide her sounds. She felt like the moment was intimate, private even, and was so touched by the love filling the room that she didn't want to ruin it, even if they couldn't hear her. It was a shame that the ice memories couldn't show much colors, because she would have loved to know if her niece's hair was blonde, red, or maybe a mix of both. Elsa chose to use her imagination, like she usually did, and it wasn't hard because of much she looked like her mother.

"Sleep well, love." Smiled Anna, and her bun swayed in her move as she stood up from the bed.

"Mama, can you tell me a story about Auntie?"

Anna stopped right in her tracks just before reaching the door. Elsa stopped breathing.

The blonde's hand, who had lowered from her mouth to her chest in emotion at Anna's love as she put her daughter to bed, clenched there.

'Here we go.' Thought Elsa. 'She'll want to know what happened.'

Anna didn't look back, and from where the elder stood, she couldn't know what her expression was. Her heart squeezed even harder. The redhead probably was feeling sad about it. She had stopped walking, and wasn't looking back as she answered her daughter.

"Not tonight, sweetheart. Sorry."

"Mamaaaa!" Insisted Eydis, using adorable bounces in the sheets to persuade her.

Elsa would have found it adorable if she wasn't devastated.

"Please tell me the story about that time she saved Ahtohallan!" Begged the little girl.

Anna didn't reply right away, and Elsa accepted with sadness that she didn't want to talk about how she had lost her… Wait, when she saved Ahtohallan? The elder frowned in confusion.

"Why wouldn't she tell you herself?" Finally turned around Anna, and to Elsa's greatest surprise, she was wearing a big smile and looking right at her.

The elder gasped with wide eyes, panicking. Was she able to see her? Did she know she was here? How long did she know?

She inspected the expression on the ice statue of her grown adult sister, and then realized that she wasn't looking at her, but behind her.

Slowly, Elsa turned around, and was seized by the biggest emotion when she saw who had just came in by the window.

A gust of wind finished twirling as an older adult Elsa stepped in the room, and as she turned around to close the window behind her, present Elsa got struck by the vision of her own front and back. With a dropped jaw, she saw how in the move, her shoulder pieces sparkled, even in the dimmed light of the candles in Eydis' bedroom. Her white outfit was the same after all these years, but was more sophisticated, more ergonomic, and, Elsa couldn't help but admit, ten times more gorgeous than the one she was currently wearing. She - her older self, as insane as the situation was - had added light armor pieces made of dense ice that brightened with the purest white, and they covered her shoulders, her chest, but also her arms and her thighs.

Elsa forgot to breath and gulp for the eternal seconds when her older self stepped in the room and to the bed. As she did, she stared at her with wide eyes. Her future self had shorter hair, way shorter hair than present time, but also undeniably more muscles, from bigger biceps to broader shoulders, and Elsa wondered if it was due to intense riding or to simply living in the woods for several tens of years. Her brain was unable to come with an answer, for how stunned she was by that mere entrance. As her older self came to sit on the bed, the skin-like ice fabric below her chest armor piece shone. It attracted Elsa's gaze, who detached her eyes from the impressively confident expression her future self had, to make them land on a set of sharp abs.

Present Elsa let out a gasp that was a mix of a scoff and a sigh as she looked over and over at herself. She was alive. And not only alive; actually looking really great.

"AUNTIEEE!" Exclaimed the little girl, jumping in joy and completely going off the sheets to join her and crush her in a hug.

Elsa gasped in emotion, tears now rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't tell if it was due to happiness, relief, or because her older self now was hugging Eydis tight.

"Hi sweetie." She chuckled.

It was odd to hear one's own voice, and even weirder to hear it from one's future self. Elsa felt taken aback by the situation, but the memory went on, and she barely caught on the sensation.

"Seriously, Elsa?" Grumbled Anna.

Present Elsa thought she was going to scold her from suddenly appearing at the window, reproach her from not using the door, or tell her to have warned about her visit. But it was none of those.

"It took me  _ ages _ to put her to bed. I'm gonna kill you." Sighed Anna.

Older Elsa chuckled, and Eydis giggled with a guilty tone. "I doubt that you will kill me", smiled the blonde. "Also, we can make a deal." She added to her niece, looking down. "I tell you the story of that time I saved Ahtohallan, and then off to bed, alright?"

"I promise!" Jolted the girl, beaming in joy and not disappointed at all.

"Alright. Now go back in your sheets." Asked Elsa as she ruffled her hair.

Anna had stepped to her, and while the child was lying back down, the blonde added: "The meeting has ended. I took care of the maps. Kristoff is walking the dignitaries to their coaches. You don't need to go back."

"Okay, thanks." Smiled Anna with a relieved but also tired sigh. She wasn't a fan of interrupting her evening meetings, going upstairs, putting her daughter to bed, to then switch her mood back and go to regal tone again.

"I think contracts are on the right way with eastern diplomats." Analyzed Elsa. "With the new politics, we made an equal deal."

Present Elsa was speechless at the scene. The blonde's lips stretched slightly at how her older self sounded. By those simple sentences, she was showing a lot of assurance, relaxation, and she was touched to see that she got Anna's back in Queen duties despite clearly only passing by. However, she was surprised to see that her voice hadn't changed at all in all those years. She was way more confident, but still had a light voice.

"Yeah, I think so too." Nodded Anna with a smile and some professional wisdom.

"Hey, enough boring adult talk!" Grumbled Eydis from the sheets she had buried herself in to the cheeks.

The sisters giggled, and even present Elsa shook her head. Yep, she was Anna's spitting image. Even if, proof being there, older Anna would become a very serious and dedicated Queen.

Older Elsa tapped her chin. "Okay, the story of that time I saved Ahtohallan… Hummm…"

Anna eye-rolled. "She heard it a hundred times already, no need to put that much suspense."

The Snow Queen laughed, and gave an amused look to her sister as she sat on the bed too. "Did you tell the story more times than me, or is it the reverse?"

"I think I did." Snorted Anna.

"I prefer when it's Auntie who tells it." Pouted Eydis.

Anna dropped her jaw as Elsa cackled with laughter.

"Ouch?" Gasped the redhead.

"You put too much details when you tell it. I want to go to the action part." Explained the child, and Elsa laughed again.

"There's no need to rush to the fight part!" Frowned Anna, defending her own version of the story.

"But you always spend soooo much time praising Auntie, it gets so long!"

Elsa looked away to openly laugh without embarrassing her sister, and present Elsa smiled with delight at the scene. Anna was blushing deeply - even if she couldn't really tell in ice statue form, she just knew it -, her older self was laughing out loud without hiding behind her hand, and her niece was adorably pouting after proving that truth comes out of the mouth of children.

"Okay, okay, no useless intro, then." Coughed Elsa, retrieving her breath.

She patted Anna's shoulder. "The positive part in this, is that she'll go to sleep earlier."

The redhead pouted a bit, still not recovering from being criticized on the way she told stories.

"Once upon a time, raiders plundered Ahtohallan. I fought them back. The end."

"AUNTIEEEE!"

"I'm just kidding." Giggled Elsa, and Anna joined the laugh.

"Okay, once upon a time, and that was when you were very little–"

"I wasn't born yet, actually."

"Yes, you weren't born yet." Smiled Elsa. "She knows the story better than me." She added to Anna on side note, and the Queen nodded. It was the third time in the month that she asked for that story.

"Ahtohallan got attacked by very evil and very numerous raiders." Continued Elsa with a lower mysterious voice, pocking her niece's belly above the sheets at each 'very', and the latter giggled.

"They had carefully planned their coup. I was there in Arendelle, along your mother, because she was about to give birth."

"Ew."

"To  _ you _ ." Specified Anna.

"Still ew."

The sisters chuckled, and Elsa kept going. "They had strategically chosen that period because they knew that the Queen was in no condition to send an army, and I'd be too far to come prevent them from raiding the glacier."

Eydis was listening carefully, her eyes opened wide, even if she knew the story into every detail.

"Little did they know that Ahtohallan could warn me." Said Elsa, now switching to a soft and deep tone, almost hypnotic to the young girl's ears.

She then moved her fingers, and some tiny figures made of ice and snow appeared in the air just above her niece's eyes, and showed what happened. "I waited for them to enter the glacier to create an ambush…"

"Hey, no wonder you're her favorite to tell the story!" Suddenly exclaimed Anna with a bit of anger. "You cheater! You're making images as well!"

Elsa and Eydis laughed as the snow characters continued to move.

"Shhhh, we're getting to her favorite part." Teased Elsa, and the Queen grumbled as she looked away and muttered a 'It's unfair.'

Elsa put as much suspense she could, and suddenly burst a mini explosion of snow, making Eydis gasp, as she showed the raiders falling into a pit in the reproduction of the glacier. The little girl giggled as some of them comically tried to hang to the sides with their picks, but then fell backwards.

"Some were clever enough to have anticipated it, and had escaped the trap. So I started fighting them…"

The mini ice figure representing Elsa started to craft herself an ice staff, and fought the angry men in Northuldra style.

"Awesome!" Beamed Eydis.

"This is a bit too graphic for a girl of her age." Mumbled Anna, and she waved her hand through a snow figure particularly violent that depicted Elsa knocking down a guy with her staff.

"You can't erase them." Smirked Elsa.

It dispersed but reformed after Anna took her hand away. No way her elder was going to let down her golden ticket to the girl's heart. Anna shook her head with a smile, and let her continue the illustrations. She however gave her sister a look that meant 'less violence in the figures, please', which Elsa understood with a nod, and the snow figures became a bit more vague.

"Olaf had come along to help me." Smiled Elsa, adding some humor in her illustrations to mask the brutality of the action. "He wasn't really good at fighting, but scared some of the raiders, and got very useful."

Anna and her daughter observed the funny moves of the figures, seeing a bunch of grown men running away in fear as Olaf led an army of snowgies to chase them. They all laughed when one of them managed to go out of the glacier, and screamed of panic when he noticed that a snowgie had made its way into his pants.

"Olaf named himself 'Guardian of Ahtohallan' afterwards." Smiled Anna. "Not sure if it stuck."

"Ahtohallan doesn't dare to tell him that it's already technically me", laughed Elsa. "But it's fine. He can keep the title."

"Olaf is so funny." Giggled Eydis.

The sisters nodded, and Elsa flicked her wrist, continuing the story. Present Elsa was just as attentive as the little girl now, for she was as curious to know what happened next.

"The fight continued for long hours. The raiders were ready for a possible danger so they were numerous, though they didn't expect to face me." Smirked older Elsa.

"And that is why she couldn't attend the day I was giving birth to you." Smiled Anna. "And several days afterwards, because Ahtohallan needed to be rebuilt and reshaped, and justice to be done about those mean raiders with Elsa as a witness."

Eydis nodded slowly, her jaw still dropped. Present Elsa smiled tenderly at how, once again, she reminded her so much of Anna when she was a child, and listened to stories told by her own mother.

"She was busing up North, but it was so epic and I'm so proud of her, that I never got upset that she wasn't there." Smiled Anna, putting a hand on Elsa's shoulder, who smiled. "Also, she came three days afterwards with so many gifts that we couldn't even step in your bedroom for how much they filled it."

Elsa chuckled. "Guilty."

Eydis laughed at Elsa's love for her, that they all knew very well, then her laugh extended to a long yawn.

"Alright, that signal means that it's time for bed!" Jolted Anna.

"N'ther story, b'lease?" Muttered her daughter.

"Oh no, young princess, it's getting late now. Come on, close your eyes."

Elsa stood up as Anna put the sheets back on her, and the girl soon went off to sleep. Present Elsa, who rubbed an emotional tear off her cheek once again, noticed that the girl didn't snore, and thought that she inherited from her father's side on it.

She felt filled with love, due to the scene, the situation, how Anna and herself had grown up to be, and the fact she now knew why she hadn't been at Anna's side that day, and now understood why Ahtohallan had planned to show her this bed time story moment.

Anna kissed Eydis' forehead again, and the two sisters silently left the room.

"We should catch up with Kristoff to join our feedbacks about the meeting." Whispered Anna to her elder as they passed the threshold.

"Sure. Just give me a minute. I'll meet you guys downstairs." Whispered back Elsa.

"Okay."

Anna left and went in the corridor, her ice statue disappearing as she did, because she stepped out of the memory.

Present Elsa suddenly got struck by the fact that she had been wrong; this future memory wasn't Anna's. Or Eydis'. It was hers.

Her older self stood still, and then she smiled and turned around. Her gaze roamed over the whole room, like she was searching for something hidden in the walls.

"I know you're here."

Present Elsa gasped in surprise, stepping back as a reflex. Her older self smiled softly, like she knew she had just reacted that way.

"I'll always remember seeing this memory of the future."

There was a silence, and both Elsas looked at each other with respect and calm smiles.

"Take care of yourself. Well, of ourself." Said older Elsa. "The future is sunny."

Present Elsa took a shaking inhale, her throat tightened with emotion.

Her older version winked, and turned around to pass the door.

The whole room dissolved into snowflakes, ending the memory in a wind of snow.

Elsa watched it elevate, sparkly and beautiful, and smiled deeply. She closed her eyes, the remaining drops on her eyelashes rolling on her cheeks, and when she opened her eyes again, she came back to present time.

* * *

Anna hadn't detached her eyes from her sister's face, and jumped of surprise when she started to blink.

"Elsa?"

"I'm here." Assured the blonde, smiling to the face above hers.

Anna sighed with relief, even if she wasn't really scared that her elder would never wake up. Tears of joy filled Elsa's eyes, and she suddenly sat up to hug her sister deeply.

"Oh- okay." Blabbered Anna, tackled by the hug. She was confused, but gave it back with closed eyes.

When they finished hugging, they stared at each other, seated on the ice floor of Ahtohallan, and Elsa found it odd to see Anna in her twenties in front of her.

"What?" Worried the redhead, seeing the way she stared.

"Nothing." Smiled Elsa.

She turned her head to the dome, nodding calmly and wisely. "Thank you."

The magic source brightened in a 'You're welcome' gesture, and when the blonde turned to Anna again, the younger had a questioning face.

"So? What happened? What was the event of the future? Why won't you be there at my delivery? Why are you happy crying?"

Elsa sniffed and laughed.

"There's a lot I want to tell you." She grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You (almost) cried reading this chap? Good news, I nearly cried when I wrote it. This is all the fluff and angst I love to create, especially enhanced with Snow Sisters and Frohana feels.   
> Phew, that one was a lot. See you next chapter for the finale of this fic. Thank you so much for reading so far!


	8. I open at the close

"Okay, I know you can't tell me what I said in the future memory and also what you said, and also what Kristoff said, and what my daughter said…" Blabbered Anna with a fast voice, already gasping for air under Elsa's amused eyes. "But there  _ must _ be a thing… Or two… That you can tell me without dropping major stuff, right?"

Elsa finished smiling before thinking. They were seated on the ice floor of Ahtohallan, Anna with her forearms on her bend knees, and Elsa in lotus position close to her, an elbow on her leg as one hand held her cheek with a touched grin on her lips. Anna had been adorably curious since she woke up from the visions of the future.

"Well… I saw three different memories, from three different moments. One was when you were pregnant, one was after you gave birth, and the third one…"

Anna instantly blushed.

"Oh my goodness, please don't tell me that you saw Kristoff and I… Doing the…"

Elsa frowned in confusion, then choked on laughter.

"No!" She wheezed, trying to catch her breath back, and Anna let out a relieved gasp. "No, are you crazy?!"

The blonde lifted her head, still laughing. "You would never show me that kind of thing, would you?" She asked to Ahtohallan.

The glacier flickered with bright lights, and the sisters interpreted from it a mix of an offended gasp, a 'Of course, duh' and a loud laughter.

Anna massaged the back of her neck. "Okay, sorry for interrupting. What was the third memory?"

"Your daughter was grown up, aged of 10 years old, I think - that I can say, it won't make any impact - and we were telling her a bed time story."

The redhead melted with a touched smile and wet eyes. "Awww."

She then bit her lip with a grunt. "Hnnnn, it's so hard for me to not ask you what her name is!"

"Yep. I get you. And there's no way I'm going to tell you."

Anna's nails scratched the ice under them in an exaggerated upset gesture. "This is torture!"

Elsa giggled. "I'm sorry. Hold on, maybe I can think of something else…"

Ahtohallan sent a warning pulse to her mind. She winced a bit at it. "Yes, yes, I'm careful, I promise." She mumbled, looking up at the magic ceiling.

The redhead smirked, her gaze alternating between the magic source and Elsa. The Snow Queen pouted as she thought.

"Hmmm… Something that doesn't reveal too much…" Her thinking Scrunch then switched to the most emotional and touched expression. "She looked just like you. Truly your spitting image."

Anna's smile stretched to all her face, and she gasped as tears now fell on her cheeks. She let out a cute giggle, and looked up to Ahtohallan. 'Is she allowed to say that?' seemed written on her face, but the glacier didn't react, and her face melted as she stared at Elsa again. The elder shared her smile.

"Though I have to say, she looked a bit like Kristoff as well."

The Queen fanned herself with her hands. "This is adorable."

The blonde laughed. "If  _ that _ makes you this emotional, just imagine me who saw the whole thing."

Anna gasped, and grabbed her hand. "True. Oh my gosh, how did you even hold the secret about the fact I'd have a daughter for  _ so long? _ " She admired.

Elsa snorted. "I told you less than 24 hours afterwards. I blurted it out in no time."

The two sisters laughed together, their voices echoing in the giant room.

"Hey, you haven't told me: what did  _ you _ look like?"

Elsa started to blush. "How is that important?"

"Come on, I'd freak out in the best way if I saw my own self in older version. Tell me!"

Elsa now blushed deeply, and looked down with a shy smile. "I looked great. I mean, I… I looked okay. Very… In shape."

Anna had an amused smirk as she stared at her elder being bashful. Whatever she had seen, it had marked her. In a good way, she presumed, given her blush. She didn't insist much, and simply replied with a nod and a smile.

"So, I can't really ask you more, uh? All I'm supposed to know is that, I'll have a daughter with Kristoff; that the reason why you won't be there at her birth is because you will be saving Ahtohallan from raiders; and then that we'll be the best mother and aunt ever?"

The Fifth Spirit smiled tenderly. "Pretty much, yes."

A silence passed.

"Yet I can  _ see _ in your eyes that you want to tell me much more." Noted Anna.

"There are a  _ thousand _ things I also want to tell you." Grinned Elsa. "But, each thing at its own time. You'll have answers as they come naturally."

"Alright." Smiled Anna, a bit disappointed but respectful. She also had enough wisdom to understand that if she asked too much, she would alter and maybe ruin her own future, and after Elsa's retelling, she didn't want any other than this one.

They finished chatting then stood up slowly, facing each other, and Elsa suddenly held Anna by the shoulders. The move surprised the redhead, just like she had been when her elder had suddenly hugged her when she woke up from the memories, but she rolled with it happily.

"Anna."

"Uh-uh?"

"You were right all along. I wasn't dead- I mean, I won't be dead on that day. Your unique positivity led you right as always."

Anna smiled, and passed a hand in Elsa's hair to tuck it aside after a strand had fell in front of her face. She did all she could to make the gesture reassuring, soft and warm.

"Of course you wouldn't die, you silly." She said, and she could see the emotion tightening her elder's throat. "And of course I was right. I'm  _ always _ right."

Elsa chuckled at her humorous addition, that Anna had purposely made to light up her mood. It worked, and she nodded as a thank you.

"Also, you can miss a birth anytime if it's to be a badass in Ahtohallan and protecting it from invaders." Assured Anna.

Elsa chuckled. "I'm so happy that we finally found out the truth."

She then frowned, and lifted her eyes to the dome.

"What I don't get is that… If you wanted to show me that event in the future, you getting raided and needing my help to defend you, then why did you not show me a memory of the raid? Why did you show me a memory of a moment I talk about it?"

Ahtohallan didn't respond, and Anna smirked.

"Maybe they didn't want you to get too much details about the attack so that you would fight them without much indications. Just the essentials, only broadly speaking. Exactly like a bed time story."

The blonde nodded, but blinked in confusion.

"And how come I already know about it in the future they showed me?"

Anna had a thinking pout, bending her head, then suddenly her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers, her mouth open in a O. "It's a time paradox! You know about it because you just learned about it. It's a loop!"

Elsa's eyes widened just as large. "Oh my God."

"You can call me Anna." Joked the redhead, sticking her tongue out.

She bounced in joy. "Now I get why you got so excited earlier. Nerdy theories are funny."

Some lights brightened, and Ahtohallan seemed to approve.

"And that's not even the most beautiful."

"What is?" Asked Elsa.

When she turned to her younger, she was smiling warmly. "The reason why Ahtohallan showed you those memories of my daughter… It's a reward, as a thank you from them for saving the whole glacier from the raid. They showed you what you couldn't see while you were here helping them." She explained, gesturing at the magical source.

Elsa's eyes glittered with emotion, and she gulped with a soft smile. She nodded to her sister's analysis, and lifted her head. "Thank you."

Ahtohallan's lights flickered as a "You're very welcome." gesture.

Suddenly, all the floating beams turned to bright white, and the sister suddenly hissed and groaned at it.

"Woaw, what is this?" Grumbled Anna, squinting and protecting her eyes with her arm.

"I think it's our way back", muttered Elsa on the same tone and with the same gesture. "I can feel the love emanating from it."

"Love?" Repeated Anna. She knew that Elsa shared a special and unique connection with Ahtohallan, and that it's how she was able to translate the glacier's emotions to her, but that was confusing. Ahtohallan's feeling in the end was love for them?

The white light turned to blue, and Anna let out a gasp as she recognized it. It was exactly the same than the one emanating from the magic rock she had touched in the Forest, and that had brought them two in the past in the first place. She could also feel that it was the same sensation, palpable in the air.

"So that was caring love…" Murmured both sisters in one voice, then they turned to each other and grinned.

"Thank you!" Smiled Anna to the magic source, as the light got even more intense. "That was quite an adventure. And even if the main goal was to show Elsa the future and thank her for it, you allowed us to see our parents on that day. Now I can tick 'travel through time' on my bucket list, and, honestly… Life goals."

Elsa laughed by her side, and slid her hand in hers.

"Are you ready?"

Anna looked at the light. "I was  _ born _ ready."

"Technically, you aren't…"

"Born yet, yes. I've been thinking of that pun for two days now."

They giggled, and all the white light condensed all along the dome to one spot, the size of a large door big enough for them to both go in, and Elsa recognized this spot on the wall as being the entrance she went through to dive into the past on her first visit.

It made sense: now was a time when Ahtohallan was used to see memories of the future; so, in order to go back to 30 years forward, they had to go through there. Anna clenched her hand as they walked.

"Elsa… I wonder… If the Northuldra chief was indeed the Fifth Spirit and he saw memories of the future, then he knew that he would die that day because of our grandfather, right?"

Elsa nodded with sadness. "Yes. I suppose that he accepted that it was his destiny."

The reminding of how the Northuldra chief died suddenly made something hit in Elsa. "Wait… When I went deep down in the memories, the first time I went here, through that frame… I actually connected with his part of Ahtohallan."

Anna's eyes widened. "Is that why you froze? I thought that it was just because you searched for a secret memory?"

"…Maybe it also was because I was entering a reversed Ahtohallan, with time memories going the other way…"

Anna stopped right before reaching the frame.

"Do you think that the reason why you saw Ahtohallan in pieces 30 years later on your first visit is because it got flipped upside down, memories now going the other way, because you headed to the glacier with the intention to get answers about the past?"

The two sisters remained silent at all the possibilities this offered.

"That's another mystery we'll maybe never have the answer of." Murmured Elsa.

Anna nudged her. "Don't be pessimistic. We managed to solve this one, didn't we?"

Elsa shared her smile. "That's right. We did."

Ahtohallan sent an insisting pulse to her mind. "Alright, alright, we're going." Chuckled the Snow Queen.

"Back to present time, then." Smiled Anna, and Elsa nodded.

They stepped to the light together, and felt cocooned as it came over them. It indeed was a light of love, and it was so bright that they clenched their eyes shut, and felt dizzy for a moment. 

* * *

When they opened their eyes, they were standing in the Forest, exactly where they had been standing before Anna bowed to touch the glowing rock.

The redhead looked down and noticed that it had disappeared, and startled when Elsa suddenly palpated her arms to make sure that her younger was alright.

"I'm fine, Elsa." Chuckled Anna.

"Sorry, I just… I had to make sure. Did all that… Happened?"

"You didn't dream. And I sure hope that all you saw of the future will happen."

"It will. That's the whole point." Smiled Elsa.

They looked at each other and hugged, more by mannerism than anything else, just glad they both made it, and lived such a crazy experience.

When they stepped back from the hug, they looked around, surrounded by the sounds of the forest. It felt like they hadn't come here in ages, and it was actually literal.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Suddenly yelled a voice behind them.

Elsa turned around at Honeymaren's angry tone.

"I've been looking for you for a full hour!" Frowned the Northuldra, walking to them.

"Only an hour?" Smiled Elsa, and she gave a side look to Anna, who chuckled.

"What?" Frowned Honeymaren when she was close, and this time, her voice was worried. "Where were you? I got really concerned."

"Oh, we were… Here and there…" Shrugged Anna.

"ANNA!"

She briskly lifted her head at the sound of Kristoff calling her. He ran to them, glad they found them again.

"We got so worried! I was about to prepare the cart to go back to Arendelle, and…"

He caught up his breath, his hands on his hips as he stared at the sisters. "Did you two purposely hide? Elsa, did you try to kidnap my wife so she would stay longer with you in the Forest this week?" He added with a laugh.

Elsa laughed and shook her head. "No. I would never take her away from you. I promise." She said, her gaze going to Anna as well.

The redhead smiled, and hanged to Kristoff's neck to kiss him deeply on the lips. He got surprised by the intensity, but gave it back to her.

"Okay. Time to go." She blushed once she was done, tapping his chest awkwardly.

He nodded and turned around, and as the redhead was about to follow him, she turned to Elsa. "See you next Friday, then."

"It sounds weird to say it now, isn't it?" Whispered the blonde.

"Totally." Whispered back Anna.

"What are you two whispering about?" Smirked Honeymaren.

"Nothing!" Exclaimed the Queen.

She trotted behind Kristoff, then turned around one last time. "Hey, Elsa!"

"Yes?" Smiled the blonde.

"Any chance you tell me her name now?"

Elsa chuckled and shook her head. "None. Just go, you dork."

Anna turned around and giggled openly, filling the woods with the echo of her sunny laugh.

* * *

THE END

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tadaaaa! Waoh, that fanfic was a lot of feels to go through. I'm sure it's the same for you! I'd love a little comment of yours to tell me what you thought of it. :D What was your favorite part?   
> Don't forget that my fanfic novel is available for printings. Find the link to "Untangling the Frozen Knots" in my bio ;D


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